


You Must (Not) Run Away

by progdor



Category: Neon Genesis Evangelion, Rebuild of Evangelion | Evangelion: New Theatrical Edition
Genre: Action/Adventure, Canon Continuation, Drama, F/F, F/M, Mystery, Romance, Sequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-30
Updated: 2019-03-30
Packaged: 2019-12-26 17:54:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 35
Words: 302,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18287336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/progdor/pseuds/progdor
Summary: [3.33 Sequel]After a week spent wandering the wilderness with Asuka & the person he thought to be Rei Ayanami, Shinji Ikari finally returns to the AAA Wunder. Here he must learn how to move forward with his life in this strange new world. [Sequel to Hand Cannot Erase][Canon Continuation]





	1. Lifetime In A Week

If Shinji had to guess he would have to say it had been a week since they had returned to the AAA Wunder. He had made an attempt to count the days since their return and was sure that at least seven days had past.

His return to this ship had not exactly been what he had expected. His expectations had been for a very negative and painful experience. He was perhaps expecting people to yell at him and be angry with him. He had been expecting an interrogation or maybe even to be hurt in some way. He had expected to have seen Misato and face a backlash from her over his actions.

He had expected some positive experiences though. Asuka, before they had returned had told Shinji that she would try to visit him. She had told him that she would talk to him and try to speak for him in front of the others. She was the only one he had expected to show him any kindness upon his return here. Throughout these seven days here he had held onto the good memories of their journey across the wasteland.

He recalled the times they had talked. He recalled how she had held his hand and how they had kissed. He even recalled that one special night they had shared.

The expectations that Shinji had were however far from the reality of what had happened to him. Instead of being yelled at or interrogated he had instead been silently refitted with a DSS Choker and escorted to a cell. Instead of facing a backlash from Misato or any kindness from Asuka he had been left entirely alone.

There had been no visitations from anyone he knew of. There had been no anger or shouting towards him. There had been no interrogations or pain. He had been left completely alone.

The only contact he had had with anyone was the guards who would bring him his food at various intervals during the days. The guards never spoke to him, instead they would keep their distance. They would look at Shinji and Shinji wasn't sure if it was a look of fear or hatred, maybe both.

The passage of time had been a lonely and boring one. It had been a week where all he could do was repeat the events that had happened to him over and over again within his own mind. All he could do was contemplate that which had happened to him since he had woken up in this strange and cruel world.

His mind once again turned towards Asuka and wondering where she had been. Asuka had been swiftly sweapt away from him shortly after they had gotten back to the Wunder. It was not long after that he was brought to this cell and there had been no word of her since.

He was starting to worry about her and was longing for her presence. His mind started to conjure irrational little scenarios like her suddenly hating him again now that they had returned. He wondered if maybe she had been hurt or something had happened to her. He wondered if maybe she had just forgotten all about him.

Shinji had been tempted at one point to ask one of the guards that brought his food but he had ultimately decided against that course of action. Talking to the guards beyond a polite thank you would have been a risk. He fears that they could turn around and try to hurt him. It was a silly fear he knew, if one of the guards wanted to hurt him they would probably just do it.

Yet that fear was within him and with each passing moment the fear was also growing. He was beginning to feel unsafe aboard this vessel. Asuka was the only one that he felt he could rely on. He didn't know Mari all that well, Ayanami was likely in the same predicament as him and the only other people he had interacted with he didn't think he could trust.

Shinji leaned back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. Bringing the back of his hand up over his forehead he took in a deep breath before letting it out slowly. Perhaps this was it for him now. A lifetime of doing nothing. In some ways he thought that maybe this would be the best thing for him.

He knew that the state of the world out there was his fault and that he'd be unable to change that. He had already tried and that very nearly made things worse. Perhaps doing nothing really was the best course of action.

As he lay there he allowed his mind to wander to what the others might be doing right now. His thoughts went direct to Asuka first. He wondered just where she might be at this moment. If she was safe or if she was happy. Again he thought about whether or not she would want to see him anymore. It was possible that after their journey she had realized she didn't like him after all. That the affection she shown towards him was just of the moment.

He tried to distill those thoughts. They had shared so much together over that journey. Tears, laughter and even each others bodies. She couldn't just suddenly hate him now, could she?

Trying to get away from the negativity he turned his mind towards whatever Rei was doing. Rei would most likely be in a similar situation to the one he was in. She had probably been fitted with a DSS Choker and put into a cell.

Shinji had to question whether or not Rei would even be bothered by such a thing. He had to think that the Rei they had brought back would be. She was radically different to the one they had started the journey with. The Rei they had returned with wanted to interact with others and not be left alone. To be left alone right now would probably be worse than how it was for her at NERV.

Of course Shinji wasn't oblivious to the fact that the crew of this ship would be more mistrusting of Rei than they were of him. He felt a cold chill run down his spine to think of the extreme end of what might have happened to her. Would they have gone so far as to have had her left behind of even killed?

_'W-Would Misato do that? She wouldn't but... I just... I don't know anymore. Everything... everyone is so different.'_

Shinji had to believe that Misato and Ritsuko wouldn't have had Rei killed or left behind. Although the Misato he had met here was very different to the one he used to know he knew that she wasn't a murderer. She just wouldn't be capable of that. If she was then Shinji would have been killed a fortnight ago when he escaped from the Wunder.

Boredom was settling in as Shinji felt himself slowly started to drift off to sleep. He was suddenly awoken from his near slumber by the sound of footsteps near to his door. It must have been one of the guards sent to deliver his lunch. It seemed a little bit earlier than normal but he was starting to feel somewhat hungry again.

To his surprise though it was not a guard carrying a tray of food that greeted him when the door opened. Instead it was the young medical officer that had seen to him when he had first woken up from his imprisonment in Unit 02. In response to her presence he felt his heart rate increase with fear. The young girl was Sakura Suzahara. Touji, his best friends, little sister.

Despite it only having been two weeks since he had met her, Shinji had actually forgotten that she was a member of the crew. Seeing her here like this though brought the memories straight back to him. He could remember how at the time she was the only one who seemed to show him any kindness. She was the only one who seemed to want to help him when everyone else was glaring at him with their eyes so full of distrust and hatred.

He felt a cold chill as he remembered her exact words to him just as he left with Rei on that day.

_‘Just whatever you do, don’t get in an Eva!’_

Naturally he had failed on living up to doing what she had asked. He had gotten into an Eva and he had once again nearly destroyed their world. All he could do as he sat up was bow his head and try to avoid eye contact with her. He heard her enter the room and braced himself for her to berate him or slap him over what he had done.

It was probably common knowledge amongst the crew and besides she likely would have seen it all unfold. She would have been there when the Wunder attacked NERV to stop Shinji and Kaworu on that day.

“Um… Mr Ikari. How are you feeling?”

Shinji, much to his surprise heard a very different voice to the one he had expected. This was not a voice that was about to berate him, nor was there any anger in it. Instead it sounded cheery and somewhat apprehensive.

“Huh?”

Shinji slowly raised his head to see Sakura was stood in the middle of the room. There was a smile on her face as she looked across at him. Nervously he responded.

“I-I’m alright… h-how are you?”

Sakura nodded and her smile grew wider, “I’m very good thank you. I just wanted to, as your doctor, have a quick talk with you and ask you some questions if you’re up to it?”

Shinji nodded as she approached. Along the way he braced himself for the smile to fade and the shouting to begin but it didn’t. Instead she stepped over to him and looked him over before raising a curious eyebrow.

“Hmm, you look a little bit pale and you’ve visibly lost weight? You’ve been eating right?”

There was still a cheeriness in her voice as she spoke but there was also a stern professionalism to it as well.

Shinji nodded in reply, “Y-Yeah, I’ve been eating what they’ve given me.”

“I see. I might have to ask them to up the food you’re being given then. Any problems since your return? Headaches? Vomiting? That sort of thing?”

Shinji shook his head in reply. He had had some bad dreams since returning but that was about it and he wasn’t really about to divulge that information. He knew that maybe he should be honest with her, but talking about Kaworu or what had happened to him really wasn’t something he wanted to do right now.

“No, I’ve been… I’ve been fine.”

“And how about sleeping, have you been sleeping alright?”

Shinji nodded weakly, “Y-Yeah… kind of…”

“Kind of?”

Shinji really didn’t want to divulge the nature of his nightmares but at the same time he thought that lying might only cause trouble.

“I’ve been having a few… nightmares.”

She shot him a sympathetic glance before placing a calming hand on his shoulder, “I see, that’s understandable given your situation. I could maybe get you something to help with that but I don’t think it’d be necessary. If possible I’d like to schedule a check-up for you later this afternoon?”

Shinji nodded again and gestured around the room, “Y-Yeah… I don’t think I’m going anywhere.”

Sakura giggled at his response, “Good. It’ll just be a physical examination just to see how you’re doing. I know this hasn’t been easy for you and I’d like to make sure you’re fit and well.”

Shinji looked across at the girl again as she spoke. It was still so difficult for him to comprehend that this girl in front of him was Touji’s little sister. It was only a few weeks ago that Shinji had been thinking of her as an infant. She was barely out of the hospital after the injuries she had suffered in the fourth Angel attacks and yet now she was actually older than Shinji was in appearance.

He wondered about people like Asuka and Mari and how they dealt with things like this. Neither of them had aged since Shinji had seen them. Yet for Shinji it seemed to make sense, he had been imprisoned within Unit 01 for all that time. Asuka and Mari actually lived in this world. They watched people grow up and age whilst they stood still.

Shinji remembered exactly what Asuka had named this strange affliction. It was the curse of the Eva. In remembering this he realized just how little he truly knew about this world and its people. He had learned a few things since returning but there seemed to be so much more to learn. He knew that so much of this was his fault but just what had happened? It couldn’t all have been bad.

As he looked at Sakura he couldn’t help but feel those pangs of guilt within him. What must she really think about him as she looked at him? She couldn’t be completely ignorant of what had happened.

“H-Hey Miss Suzahara…”

She giggled again at the politeness and stammering from Shinji, “Please call me Sakura…”

“D-Do you know what happened… whilst I was away… in NERV I mean?”

The change in her expression was immediate. Shinji’s mouth went dry as the smile faded. Sakura seemed to contemplate his question for a moment before finally nodding.

“Yes, I know what happened. You did get into an Eva…”

“Yeah…”

Again she stopped to think about what she wanted to say, “You had to find your own path Shinji and I know… we didn’t want you to get in an Eva but what happened. It wouldn’t have been your fault. Not really! NERV and well… the Commander… he…”

Sakura seemed to stumble over her own words at this point as if she wasn’t sure on how to address Shinji regarding his father. He knew that it was probably an awkward situation for her, after all the Commander she was about to say something negative about was Shinji’s father.

Shinji instinctively took hold of her hand to calm her, “It’s alright… I know exactly what my father is now…”

“Shinji your father is manipulative and he knew how to get to you. We all… we all knew and I can’t blame you for what happened. I do know that you’re not a bad person Shinji. Touji always used to speak so highly of you and…”

“Touji!” Shinji suddenly exclaimed as she said the boy’s name. She seemed startled by his sudden outburst.

Shinji however could feel himself going cold as another memory from his time in NERV bubbled to the surface. A shirt he had been given during one of the days there. He had thought it to be a simple oversized shirt at first but then he had seen the name written on the inside. It was Touji’s name.

Shinji bowed his head again, “I-I’m really sorry about what happened to Touji. If I hadn’t have… he wouldn’t…”

Sakura stepped back in confusion, “Huh?”

Shinji looked up at her with tears forming in his eyes, “I… I found his shirt in NERV and… If it wasn’t for me then he would be… I’m sorry…”

“Shinji what are you talking about? Touji is fine!”

Now it was Shinji’s turn to be confused. He wiped the tears from his eyes and looked up at her, “Huh?”

“He’s alive and fine Shinji! He’s serving WILLE in one of the European cities as part of the engineering teams there. You mean to say you thought he was dead?”

Shinji was left speechless by her words. He felt a sense of elation on hearing that his old friend was indeed alive and well but also confusion at what he had seen at NERV. He had been told that all he knew was dead. He didn’t have too long to think about it as a third voice entered the conversation. One that he recognized all too well.

“Of course that’s what the brat thought. That’s exactly what he was shown and if there is one thing Shinji isn’t good at, it’s questioning things.”

“Asuka!” Shinji exclaimed.

“Captain Shikinami, you’ve returned.”

Shinji turned his head to see Asuka standing in the doorway to the room. She was not in her plugsuit anymore but was wearing a pair of combat trousers and boots. She had her hands in the pockets of her red jacket, the same one she had worn on the day he had returned. He could see she was holding some sort of metal box in one hand and in the other hand was a combat helmet.

“I’ll take it from here Second Lieutenant. Akagi wants you to go and help her with Ayanami.”

Sakura politely bowed as both Shinji and Asuka before saying her goodbyes and exiting the room. Shinji stood up to greet Asuka and allowed himself to smile. Asuka had returned. He had no idea where from but it did explain why she hadn’t visited him. It hadn’t occurred to him that she might have been sent away straight after coming back.

“Asuka you…”

Shinji was given no chance to finish his sentence before she had dropped box her helmet and the box she was carrying onto the ground. He trailed off as he watched her walk aggressively towards him. Her gaze was fixed directly onto him and she was frowning. He half expected her to punch him for some reason but instead she reached out and grabbed him firmly by both shoulders. She shoved him up against the wall and pressed her lips firmly against his and clamped both hands onto his sides.

Shinji’s only response was to wrap his own arms around her and return the kiss. In the moments that passed with the kiss he felt all the worry and guilt flow away from him. He allowed himself a moment in which all that existed was just him and Asuka.

Finally she broke off the kiss and smiled at him.

“A-Asuka... I… I’ve missed you.”

Shinji watched as her gaze went downwards, she seemed to linger for a moment. Shinji felt himself glow red as he realized what must have caught her attention. His body seemed to have had something of a reaction to their kiss. She looked back up at him and grinned, “I can tell.”

“S-Sorry…”

She laughed, “Like I care, I always knew you were a pervert but you’re my pervert now so it doesn’t matter. Anyway that aside, I suppose I’ve missed you too.”

She paused and backed away before continuing to speak, “So let me guess, they threw you in here and put the collar back on you. No one has been to see you in that time and besides me, our friendly medic is the first real person you’ve communicated with right?”

Shinji nodded, “Yeah…”

His response only drew a sigh from Asuka, “I had a feeling that something like that might have happened. Barely an hour after I returned I was sent out on some escort runs over the wastelands and a retrieval mission. I only just got back half an hour ago.”

“Y-You were sent out?”

"Yeah. I managed to shower and then I was immediately ordered back out in one of those stupid TARKUS Unit's as four-eyes called them. Wasn't even debriefed about our journey through the desert."

"What have you been doing?" Asked Shinji.

"Hopping from outpost to outpost really making sure supplies arrived safely and on time. Final one had to retrieve this thing, no idea what it is though." She pointed at the box she had set down earlier.

"I had no idea..."

"Well how could you have done? You've been in here for a week, and lets be honest after what you've pulled I doubt they're going to be keeping you in the loop."

Shinji bowed his head apologetically, "Y-Yeah... I guess."

Asuka sighed again before strolling over to the middle of the room. She looked back at Shinji and frowned trying to figure out what to do from here. It had been her intention to talk to Misato about Shinji and his situation as soon as she had gotten back. Unfortunately her new assignment had prevented her from being able to do so.

It had then been her hope that whilst she was away someone might have dealt with Shinji, given him a set of quarters or at least interviewed him. Maybe someone might have brought him up to speed on what had happened but none of that had happened.

Shinji had been treated just like a criminal so far. No contact with anyone, confined to a cell and given three meals a day. Although sympathetic to him she could see why it had happened. In their eyes he had turned against them and had nearly brought about another catastrophic event. Yet they must have known it wasn't entirely his fault, that the miscommunications upon his awakening had led to all that had happened.

If anything Shinji was guilty of being an idiot and allowing himself to be manipulated by his father so easily. In that case it seemed cruel to have kept him isolated in this manner. Yet he had carried out those actions, so there had to have been some punishment.

Her cyclical train of thought was broken by the sound of his voice, "So... are you alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine, it was quite boring actually. Absolutely no contact with NERV and no sign of the Nemesis Series either. So it was just a lot of time spent walking alongside trucks."

"That's good though?"

She nodded, "Yeah it's good I suppose. You know what they say, no news is good news right?"

She paused for a moment, "I just... don't trust those TARKUS Unit's. They feel so flimsy compared to my Unit 02. Unfortunately that’s undergoing serious repairs at the moment for some reason..."

She shot a glare Shinji's direction upon mentioning her damaged Evangelion Unit. Shinji felt himself flinch at her words, "Um... sorry about that..."

Asuka let out a laugh, "Whatever, wasn't like it was you that damaged it. Set the thing to destruct when fighting the vessel of the Adams. You would have and in fact you actually barely even made a scratch on it."

Shinji wasn't sure why and he knew this probably wasn't the best course of action but he suddenly felt an urge to defend himself against her taunt.

"Hey! I did make a scratch on it though! I got you a few times!"

Shinji instantly regretted speaking up. It was really nothing to be proud of, everything he had done that day had been wrong and fighting Asuka was near the top of that list. She seemed to contemplate him for a moment before raising an eyebrow and then laughing again.

"Hah, only because I was going easy on you. If I was fighting at my full strength you wouldn't have stood a sta-"

Shinji pushed himself off of the wall, "Y-You were going easy on me? Asuka I was about to do the stupidest thing ever! Why were you going easy on me?"

All she could do was shrug in reply, "Well maybe it's because I thought you'd use your brain and not do the stupidest thing in the world. Of course that wasn't going to happen because you're you!"

"B-But you shouldn't have gone... I... Asuka yo-" Shinji tried to stutter out some semblance of a response to her but found himself completely lost for words.

"And maybe Shinji... it's because I actually care about you and I didn't want to actually hurt you. Unfortunately that didn't quite work out did it?"

Shinji shot a hurt glance her direction, "Didn't seem like you cared the way you were firing at me."

"Oh you had an A.T. Field didn't you? God, why do you have to be such a brat about these things? What did you want me to do? Perform a striptease to stop you? Actually don't answer that, knowing you the answer is probably yes."

"Asuka..."

"I cared about you and I wanted to stop you, what was I supposed to do? I couldn't exactly try to kill you could I? I had to stop you even if it meant hurting you a little bit. I probably would have stopped you too if Ayanami didn't interfere and if four-eyes had been a bit quicker. If it was one-on-one you wouldn't have stood a chance!"

Shinji took in all she had said and once again he felt a silly urge to defend himself against her taunt.

"I... I'd be able to beat you!"

Asuka grinned at the response, "Oh would you now? Is that a challenge from the brat I hear?"

Shinji's hands clenched themselves into fists, "Yeah it is!"

"Fine, I accept but  won't be going eas-"

Asuka's was cut off instantly by a sharp voice echoing throughout the room.

"Nobody will be challenging anyone. Captain Shikinami, you should have reported to me after you returned. Why have you not yet done so?"

In a single moment Shinji felt every last bit of courage and confidence he had regained from his playful argument with Asuka drain away from him. As he looked across towards the source of the voice he could see Misato stood in the doorway, he gazed fixed directly on Asuka. Slowly he turned his head towards Asuka and saw that she too seemed to be having issues forming a reply.

Shinji's eyes shifted from looking at Asuka back to Misato. He wanted to say something or make some sort of motion but found himself completely rooted to the spot. He dared to not move or speak in front of either of them as he felt Misato turn her gaze towards him.

Her eyes seemed to burn through him as a sudden churning in his stomach started. His vision started to become blurred as little black dots appeared before his eyes.

This had happened to him once before. It was back at NERV after he had been shown the state of what was once Tokyo-3 by Kaworu and Fuyutsuki. This time it was the sight of Misato that had triggered this in front of him. He dug his nails into his hand and struggled to catch his breath.

As the shapes of their bodies started to blur so too did their speech. He focused on keeping himself on his feet as all around him started to fade out. Misato being here and spawned a whirlwind with his mind.

There had been a time when she had been the closest thing Shinji ever had to a mother. Yet all he had done for her was serve to tear her world apart. She had tried to help him and all he had done was repay her by trying to run away on a number of occasions and eventually rip apart what she had tried to protect.

Not only that but upon his return he had managed to endanger her and her entire crew. Within a week of that return he had nearly ripped apart the world once more.

As he struggled to stay on his feet he started to go through images of their time together. He recalled their first meeting in the shadow of the fourth Angel. How she had come to pick him up in her blue Renault Alpine. He recalled how she had been when he had gotten into the Eva for the first time and he remembered how she had told him that he had done a good job and that she was proud of him.

He remembered the time that she had shown him what was underneath NERV. She had told him about the contract with Lillith and how if any Angel made contact it would trigger a Third Impact. She had told him that this was what he was protecting.

Shinji recalled all the times she had given him a hug after the Angel battles. How she used to smile at him and ask how his day had been at school. He recalled the times she had taken Asuka and he out to dinner after a sync test at NERV. They were all memories of much happier times, so very far removed from the reality he now faced.

With all of these past memories being brought up Shinji was beginning to realize that he couldn't face Misato again. Shinji knew that he would probably have to, if not for the others but for himself but right now it just wasn't possible.

With each passing second he could feel the collar tighten around his neck. He resisted the urge to pull at it. It was only in his mind he reminded himself and he didn't wish to show any visible discomfort.

He took in a deep breath and some of the blurriness started to subside. He could see Asuka still facing his direction. She looked worried as her eye was fixed directly on him. In response he pressed himself up against the wall and tried to stem some of the trembling in his legs.

He continued to take deep breaths and started to count slowly in his head as he watched Asuka and Misato finish up their conversation. Misato started to walk away but stopped herself at the door. She didn't turn to face him but Shinji did see her look up towards the ceiling.

Shinji felt a strange sense of déjà vu and realzed her actions mirrored that of how she had been when she came to see him in his room after the fourth Angel. Only this time her words had no warmth of comfort to him. This time they were cold.

"Shinji... We will talk later."

She left and the door slid closed. In that split second everything finally hit him. The blurriness returned and along with is a wave of nausea. He could make out Asuka's shape running towards him and placing a hand on his shoulder as he fell forward. She was just able to catch him and soften the fall to his knees.

Pain shot through his knees as they hit floor and he heaved forward spilling the contents of his stomach onto the floor.

Asuka turned away and closed her eyes. He kept a gentle hand on his back rubbing it as his body quivered. Finally when it seemed like it was over she opened her eyes and saw he was staring ahead at the door, tears were streaming down his cheeks.

"Shinji?"

He blinked and turned to look at her, "A-A-Asuka... I-I..."

She shushed him and gently helped him to his feet before carrying him over to the bed. She sat him up and observed him for a moment. All the colour had been drained from his cheeks and any trace of the confidence and cockiness he had displayed before Misato's visit was now completely gone. All that remained was a trembling and scared boy.

She made sure he was stable before rushing over to a small sink in the room and grabbing the cloth that was there. Asuka ran up under the cold water tap for a few moments before moving back over to where Shinji was sitting. She gently began to dab at his cheeks and around his eyes trying to mop up some of the tears that had fallen before wiping around his mouth to try to clean him up.

"A-Asuka..." He looked up and suddenly reach out to grab her hand.

She shushed him again, "Don't say anything, just read for now. Okay."

He nodded blankly, "I'm sorry..."

She sighed, "What are you apologizing for now?"

Weakly he nodded towards the middle of the room, "I-I... made a mess..."

She turned around and grimaced at the sight before shrugging, "Yeah you did but hey at least you didn't get it on me right?"

She grinned at her own joke but Shinji didn't seem to react. Instead he looked up at her again, his lips trembling and his eyes full of anguish, "I'm so sorry..."

"Shinji will you just..."

"I ruined your world Asuka... I ruined Misato's world... everyone on this ship... I should I have just died... I don't... I don't deserve to li-"

"SHINJI!" She raised her voice, perhaps a bit more than she was expecting to. It seemed to have the desired effect though and Shinji immediately shut up.

"Look this... what happened all those years ago. Yes you triggered something but it isn't quite that simple. I don't know how to explain it all but what you think you know about this world... you just...."

She paused, "Urgh you just need more time and someone to explain it to you properly. We need to sit down and have a proper discussion about this but now isn't that time. I have to go and... you're not in the right condition for it."

"Y-You have to go?"

Asuka nodded apologetically, "Yes, I'm on duty and I shouldn't have come here in the first place. I'm going to go and get Sakura to come and see to you alright? I'll also be giving her orders to move you into my quarters, to hell with this prisoner bullshit. I'll make sure a guard is posted out there so that you don't escape. It'll be more comfortable than here and you can rest there too."

Shinji smiled weakly, "O-Okay... thank you Asuka."

She smiled and leaned in to kiss him on the forehead. She then stood back up and geared herself up for the rest of the day. Her smile transformed into a scowl, she stood up straighter and put on the air of authority she would be needing.

"I'll see you this evening Shinji. I'm ordering you to rest, am I understood?"

Shinji laughed, "Yes... Captain Shikinami."

Asuka left the room and immediately turned towards a waiting Sakura. The girl had clearly heard that something had happened in there. Her eyes were wide with worry.

"Is everything alright?"

Asuka nodded, "Fine. We had an incident in which Shinji was taken ill, I'm going to need you to go and see to him."

"Of course."

"After you have done that I want you to relocate him to my quarters. I've got a spare keycard for him. Make sure he gets a shower, has something to eat and drink and make sure he rests."

Sakura started to protest, "But what about Katsuragi's ord-"

Asuka immediately cut her off anticipating such a response, "I don't care what Katsuragi has ordered. This is what I've ordered and as his doctor do you see any reason to disagree with me?"

She shot Sakura a knowing smile as the medic replied, "Not at all. In fact I think moving Shinji out of that cell is the best thing for him."

Asuka nodded, "Doctor always gets priority in these cases then. Have a guard posted outside the door. Shinji won't go anyway, he's an idiot but he isn't that stupid but that's what the higher ups will want."

"Understood, I'll have him moved right away."

XXX

She could feel a warm glowing sensation spread all throughout her body as she started to gain more awareness. As she opened her eyes she found herself in complete darkness but could also feel herself floating in this unknown environment. As she looked down all she could see was the pale skin of her naked body. As she looked below her there was a sudden flash of flight and she began to feel a force pull her down towards it.

As she was pulled down images and objects were starting to come into focus. Most prominently was a narrow black metallic walkway. On each side were cylindrical railings and just beyond them were tall walls reaching up high into the air.

As her feet touched the cold steel she looked upwards and could see a ceiling with a sequence of pipes and small circular spotlights along the way. She squinted to look ahead trying to figure out exactly where she was. The lights provided very little illumination but she could see traces of a light orange smoke emanating from the pipes.

She felt like there was some external force guiding her and she slowly started to walk down this alien corridor. Although she knew she had never been in this place before there was some feelings of familiarity to it.

She continued to walk for what she estimated to be two minutes and came across a section where the walkway split off into two. Sat in the centre of this fork was a floating metallic disc. It was hovering gently in the air some seven feet off of the ground. On its base was a small spotlight and on its back were two prongs.

She apprehensively approached it and stopped a couple of metres aware. She tilted her had and observed it with a sense of curiosity. As it curious as to what she was it rotated itself and shone its spotlight up and down her body.

Suddenly it spun around facing away from her and started to slowly move down the left hand fork. It got a few meters before stopping and spining around to shine its spotlight on her once more. Did it want her to follow it?

Cautiously she began to put one foot in front of the other one and move forward following this strange being. She didn’t know where it would lead her and with each step she began to feel a sense of panic rising up within her. She knew that she shouldn't be here, that this place was not safe.

She took more steps finding herself unable to stop moving. Despite these feelings that she should turn around and run she couldn't keep herself from going forward and following this thing. As she moved onwards she began to wonder just what this place was. She began to wonder how she had gotten here and if she was alone here.

It definitely seemed like she was alone but in the back of her mind were hazy images of others. They were there in front of her, their images not fully formed in her mind. She concentrated trying to clear the fog in her mind. One of them was a boy, brown haired and he was wearing a strange outfit. It was purple and grey. She remembered that he had a warm smile but also that he was in pain.

There was another person there as well. Red haired and with a patch covering her eye. This girl wore a suit similar to the boy but hers were red with white markings. She tried to remember more about her. The girl she remembered being angry and commanding yet she too had a pain within her that she didn't speak of.

Finally there was a third person she remembered. One she barely knew. Her suit was just like the others except pink. The girl had brown hair and wore red framed glasses. As she thought of this girl she felt herself smile and blush in the darkness. She could feel a strange ticklish sensation within her stomach.

Despite having the images of these people in her head she couldn't quite remember just who they were. Everything was just so hazy right now. She continued to walk onwards trying to remember until she came across a large door.

The door was comprised of a thick black metal. She cast her gaze over it and could make out a symbol on it. A symbol that comprised an upside down triangle, an apple in the middle and a snake coiled around the apple. On each side of the apple were eyes, four eyes to the right and three eyes on the left.

She was given almost no time to contemplate the symbols meaning as the door suddenly slid open revealing the bizarre room beyond. The room has octagonal and as she entered she realized that the disc she was following had disappeared.

Within the centre of this room was a large tank which had been filled with a thick orange liquid. Coming out of this tank were a sequence of pipes which were connected to smaller tanks dotted on the sides of the room. From each of these smaller tanks were smaller pipes which lead out of the rooms.

The feeling of fear started to rise up inside her as she examined the room closer. She was still unable to turn around and run away though. There was a force within her compelling her to go on and explore everything.

She cautiously took steps towards the large tank and a strange familiar smell began to creep into her nostrils. All of a sudden three letters popped into her head.

_'LCL'_

She knew what this liquid was. It was a substance called LCL, she could remember being surrounded by it on a wide number of occasions.

As she stepped closer she could begin to make out a shape within the tank. Her fear rose more and more as she crept closer and closer to the tank. Features were beginning to form on the shape. It was human, there was somebody in there.

She stepped closer until she was inches away from the glass. She wanted to run but she was rooted to the spot. There was a jolt, the figure inside the tank moved and she jumped in response to its sudden movement.

The fogginess of the liquid was beginning to clear as more and more features were being revealed of the figure within. Her eyes widened as the facial features and body came into full view. Everything was telling her the same thing.

_'This is... This is me!'_

As it hearing the voice in her mind the figures eyes suddenly shot open. Its hand lurched forward and landed with a loud thud against the glass. She fell backwards in response as the figure stared at her with a sickening grin and a voice was transmitted into her head.

_'Welcome home!'_

XXX

Her eyes flickered open and she let out a muffled scream as she came to the realization that she had awoken in a similar tank to the one she had just witnessed the figure from her nightmare in. She frantically looked around the tank as the liquid began to drain from it. She wanted to scream but the sound was caught in her throat. She wanted to run but all she felt was a tremendous amount of pain as she dropped to her knees.

The image of that figure from her nightmare had burnt itself into her mind. Every detail of it from its pale appearance to its sickening grin. She knew that it looked exactly like her but it wasn’t her. It was a twisted version of her. A version that should not exist.

She looked around the room again just as sound was finally begin to return to her ears. Outside of the tank she could hear a voice yelling out orders.

“Finish draining the tank completely and have the LCL put back through the filtration systems. Get a wheelchair ready as well, she’s going to be weak when she comes out.”

The source of those words was unknown to her but there was a familiarity to the voice. The person was also very correct. As she tried to move she found herself unable to do so. She remained on her knees continuing to take in her surroundings.

The room she was in was not the small octagonal one from her nightmare. Instead this was much brighter and more spacious. There were no little tanks scattered around but instead a series of consoles with various people in lab coats moving between them.

It took her a moment to find the source of the voice. A short blonde haired woman with pink earrings in. She, unlike the others in the room was not wearing a white lab coat but instead had a sleeveless black top on. On her hands were black fingerless gloves.

The tank opened up and one the assistants leaned in and gently helped her out of the tank and into a waiting wheelchair. She was wheeled over to the blonde woman. Her expression was hard to read, she was stony faced, almost mistrusting but there was a look in her eyes. A look of fear mixed with sympathy.

Finally she spoke, “Please try to remain calm. You’re very weak right now. I am Dr Akagi, are you able to tell me your name?”

Her first instinct was to shake her head and say she couldn’t remember. As she was about to do though a name suddenly popped into her head, “My… My name is Rei Ayanami.”

Dr Akagi gave a nod, “That’s very good Rei. Tell me do you remember who I am?”

Rei shook her head, “I do not.”

Dr Akagi frowned and tapped a few keys on the laptop that had been set up beside her. For a moment Rei wondered if she had given the wrong answer, there was something familiar about Dr Akagi but she just couldn’t remember yet.

“Tell me Rei, do you know where you are right now?”

Rei shook her head again, “I do not.”

“Hmm… and what about how you got here?”

Rei was read to shake her head for a third time but suddenly the answer popped into her head. She could remember them now, the people she had thought of in her dream. They had brought her here.

“I-I was brought here… by two others.”

There was no reaction from Akagi at this response, she just tapped in a few more things onto the laptop before turning back to Rei.

“That’s good, can you tell me their names at all?”

Rei nodded slightly, “Asuka… and Shinji.”

Akagi tapped in a few more things before turning towards one of the assistants, “Her memories are starting to return. Have her transported to the main medical bay and have Suzahara watch over her. She’ll need some fresh clothing and probably something to eat and drink.”

The assistant nodded as Akagi leaned in, “Listen to me Rei. You’ll probably be feeling quite disorientated for a short while. It will pass but you might also experience some headaches and slight nausea as your body adjusts to the new processes. If you feel anything strange at all let Suzahara know immediately.”

“Yes.”

“Very good, I will be along later to inform you of your current situation.”

Rei gave a weak nod as she felt one of the assistants grab the wheelchair handles and begin to wheel her out of the room. As she was pushed towards her destination more memories were being unlocked within her.

She could remember being in a vast wasteland along with Asuka and Shinji. She could remember sleeping in a tent with them. She could remember eating and talking with the two of them. She remembered how Asuka shouted at Shinji on the first day and how Shinji would cry every now and then. She remembered seeing the bond between the two of them.

She could remember the journey. How they had travelled together, hid together and gotten to this place together. They had helped her out when she didn’t deserve it.

_‘I… I should thank them…’_


	2. A Sort Of Homecoming

Asuka entered the spacious yet sparse ready room that belonged to Misato Katsuragi. The room was a short journey down a corridor away from the main bridge of the AAA Wunder. Its primary function was to be a private office for the captain of the Wunder, a location for them to write up reports or communicate with officers on a one of one basis should it be needed.

Although most of the crew had been on the Wunder for some time it was still a relatively new vessel, it had only acquired its primary power source recently and full command had only been released to Katsuragi recently. It was for this reason that the room was so empty.

Towards the back of the room was a desk, upon which were three screens each connected to the ships primary computer systems. Misato was sat at the desk, her eyes currently fixed one of these screens. Situated behind Misato was a large window which gave a remarkable view of the scenery that they were currently flying through.

Against the walls were a few display cabinets for displaying decorations. They were at this time empty. Asuka wondered if over time the cabinets would fill up or whether they would always remain empty. Keeping things for the sake of decoration was not really a priority for any of the crew on board the Wunder. Of course Misato would likely be using this room to conduct meetings with members of various organizations in the world, so it was likely diplomatic gifts would end up being stored in this room. Presents and tokens of goodwill from people who wished to acquire something from WILLE.

There was one particular cabinet in the room that Asuka did know to be full though. It was only to be opened on very special occasions, the last of which was the day before the mission to recover Shinji. Asuka could remember very little of that night, only waking up the next morning with a very sore head.

One very curious feature of the room was alone one of the walls in which a tank was embedded. Swimming within the tank was a small Lionfish. Asuka had no idea why Misato kept a Lionfish onboard the Wunder and had never bothered to ask. This was after all a woman who once had a pet penguin.

Asuka was not here to discuss fish nor was she here to admire the office. She was here to conclude her week long mission and deliver whatever it was within the box to Misato. She still didn’t know what was inside the container. Her job had been to recover it after the end of her escort mission and bring it back to Misato.

Asuka of course had a personal reason for being here as well. She wanted to talk to Misato about the situation regarding Shinji. It was more than likely that Misato would have heard about Asuka’s order to relocate Shinji to alternative quarters by now. How Misato would react to that she didn’t know, she had already prepared to defend her actions though.

“Shikinami.” Misato finally turned her attention away from the screen and gave a small courteous nod towards Asuka.

Asuka strode towards the desk and pulled the small chair situated there back slightly. She set the container down and took a seat before nodding back towards Misato.

“Captain Katsuragi.”

“I’ve just received a curious message from Second Lieutenant Suzahara.”

Asuka felt herself smirk as Misato spoke. She hasn’t expected that to have been the first thing she heard about, she had expected a welcome back or a good job at first. Misato was very to the point today it would seem.

“Regarding what might I ask?”

“A transfer of prisoner BM-03 to the quarters of Captain Shikinami. Of course it being a medical directive I have no power to override such an action, yet I have to ask, what exactly are you playing it?”

Asuka shrugged her shoulders, “The idiot fell ill after you left. I made the decision that staying in that cell would have done him no favours and Suzahara agreed with me. We thought friendlier surroundings would have been in his best interest. We’ve had a guard posted out there should the brat try to escape but I have complete confidence that he will try no such thing.”

Misato seemed to take the words in and for a moment Asuka wondered if she was going to try to say anything to object to what Asuka had put in place. After taking a moment to think about it Misato nodded, “Fine, I’ll trust your judgement on this. In the future I’d like to be consulted on anything relating to BM-03 and its movements aboard my vessel though.”

Asuka nodded, “Noted.”

She could feel herself twitch ever so slightly when Misato referred to Shinji as BM-03. She tried not to let it show.

“So tell me about BM-03.”

Asuka raised a curious eyebrow at Misato in response to the request. If Misato wanted to know about Shinji why could she not have just spoken to him? Why could she not have just asked Asuka a week ago before sending her out on the mission? Why was she still referring to him as BM-03?

“What do you want to know?”

“You spent five days with him.”

Asuka nodded, “Yes I did.”

“So is it Shinji?”

Asuka nodded again, “Yes. I thought Akagi already conf-“

Misato sharply cut her off, “I know what Akagi confirmed but that is only one thing. I need to know from you, is that definitely Shinji Ikari we have sitting in your quarters right now?”

Asuka sighed and nodded again slowly, “Yes, that is definitely Shinji Ikari. I know with 100% certainty that it is. I spent five days with him. I fought against him in that time and then I saw what he was like afterwards. I saw the idiot cry and scream about how he regretted everything he did. I saw him eat and I saw him sleep.”

 _‘I even slept with him’_  Asuka thought to herself, feelings herself blush.

“I have absolutely no doubt that it is Shinji Ikari, if you had taken the time to speak to him then you would have seen it for yourself. Is that why you kept him in that cell? Because you weren’t sure?”

Asuka was doing the best she could to keep her voice down. The last thing she wanted to do was raise her voice against Misato. Instead she kept her gaze fixed on her commanding officer, the smirk he had before was now a scowl and she watched and Misato confirmed her actions.

“Yes I had doubts about him. Despite what Ritsuko said I had doubts, despite the fact that after over a week he still looked like Shinji and still sounded like Shinji I had doubts. Yet that wasn’t why I put him in that cell. Shinji had to be punished for what he had done, for the good of this ship and its crew.”

Misato paused for a moment, “I don’t expect him to understand it. I don’t take any pleasure in it either but there is still a risk. To both he and the crew itself. I know it was cruel but no more so than the forced isolation I had to endure after the Second Impact or the isolation you endured after your contamination.”

Asuka frowned again, “You could have at least spoke to him. Isolating him without any contact and him not even knowing why was a bit cruel.”

“I had little choice. I can’t be Shinji’s friend or guardian anymore. My responsibility is to this crew and I have to ensure they have complete faith in me.”

Asuka found it hard to deny Misato was correct and yet it still bothered her. Shinji was definitely still a risk and after what he had pulled with running away and fighting for NERV being put in a cell on the Wunder was getting off easy.

Asuka also knew the state of the crew. They were frightened of what Shinji was capable of, Misato couldn’t have had him running freely around the ship just yet, not without showing she had done anything first.

“So what are we going to do? Keep him confined to my quarters?”

Misato nodded, “For now yes but we will also have to bring him forward for interrogation later this afternoon or tomorrow. We need to find out what he knows.”

Asuka shook her head and shifted in her seat as she recalled Shinji’s reaction only moments ago to seeing Misato again, “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“It has to be done.”

“Shinji is terrified of you. After you left he had a panic attack and nearly collapsed. If you try to speak to him or interrogate him than he’ll probably just throw up on you or pass out. You’ll get nothing out of him.”

“I see.”

Asuka noticed that Misato seemed to avert her gaze at hearing the news about Shinji. It was at that moment she saw something in the woman's eyes that she hadn't seen for a while. Misato had to put on a colder exterior for the people of this vessel. She had to act like there was no personal attachment to Shinji anymore. She had to act like Shinji was a criminal and ensure he was punished for his actions despite deep down not wanting to.

Asuka knew it was a complicated situation, one that she never desired to be in. Asuka didn't care for leading people. She just wanted to pilot her Eva and show she was the best. Shinji had of course complicated that, she had never expected to have fallen for him all those years ago. On his return she had never expected to have fallen for him again. With her and Mari there had been a bond, a connection but it wasn't the same as what she felt for Shinji.

That was how it was supposed to have been. Mari had offered friendship and companionship to Asuka. Asuka had taken it eventually. She had been reluctant at first, only wanting to be held by Mari and not engage any further. Eventually she had been the one to go to Mari for it.

The connection she had with Mari during those times was nothing compared to what she had felt with him that one night in the tent though. She was now certain of her feelings for him which only made things harder regarding her position on the Wunder and in dealing with Misato.

Asuka knew Shinji had to be punished for what he had done. He had acted impulsively and even if it wasn't his fault he had to answer for it. He had endangered people and both he and everyone knew it. She couldn't ignore that, even if she wanted to protect him from it.

Her train of thought was broken as Misato suddenly stood up and wandered over to the window. She peered out of his for a moment before whispering, just enough for Asuka to hear.

"Damn him..."

Asuka couldn't help but smile, "If it helps Misato I feel the same way."

"Everything is so uncertain at the moment. The crew of this ship are frightened and all they know is that it was Shinji who set into motion the events of Near-Third Impact. Many of them blame Shinji for the way the world is. Some would not have had us bring him back at all and just have left him up there. Some are calling for him to be imprisoned for his actions and a few even called for execution."

Asuka stood up, "Misato you woul-"

Misato held up a hand to promptly cut off Asuka, "No, I wouldn't consider it. My first thought was to have Shinji sent out to one of the cities. Given a new identity and sent to live with one of the families there but... I can't do that."

Misato turned around to look at Asuka. Asuka felt herself glow red and wondered if she might be the reason Misato couldn't do that.

"Aside from your feelings towards him, which I am more than aware of... if we moved him into one of the cities it poses a bigger risk to him and us than if we kept him here. We have no idea if NERV or SEELE might make an attempt to get him and next time they might not give him a choice in what he does. It's best keeping him here."

"So what do we do with him? We can't just keep him confined to my quarters."

"I don't know Asuka. I can't have him wander the ship, you know as well as I do the risk to him. What does he want to do?"

Asuka shrugged, "At the moment he seems content to do what we tell him. He can cook, can we not put him in the canteen?"

Misato seemed to stop to think for a moment and then nodded, "That's a good idea. I will discuss it with Ritsuko and the team in the canteen. Maybe we can arrange something."

"And what about your interrogation?"

Misato sighed, "It will have to go ahead. You know as well as I do It has to be done but... I will hold it off for a couple of days. Until then he is your responsibility Asuka. Talk to him, get information from him if you can and maybe try to persuade him we're not all so bad here. Damn that idiot!"

Asuka laughed, "Well I always told you he was an idiot didn't I?"

Asuka paused, "None of us really helped him when he returned though did we?"

"We were yet to confirm it was really him. The attack from the Nemesis series and the tests and then the attack from NERV. Didn't give us a lot of time..."

"No but we also put a collar on him and told him was his punishment. I strode in and nearly punched a window through in front of him. Everyone looked at him like he was a demon and now we've nearly done it again. Locked in a cell and collar back on with no explanation this time."

"What else would you have had me do? You know he had to..."

"Yes I know he had to be punished MIsato. I warned him myself that he might be punished and put in a cell. I just wish you had informed me first before sending me out on some simplistic escort run on the edges of the wasteland."

Misato nodded in response. Asuka knew that she shouldn't be raising her voice to Misato like this but Misato didn't seem to be arguing back.

"Your honesty is appreciated. Yet that escort run wasn't as frivolous as you think. The bos you brought back carries great importance. Open it."

Asuka frowned and glanced down at the box somewhat confused, "You mean this one?"

"Yes."

"What is it?"

"Open it and see for yourself!"

Asuka lifted the contained up onto the desk and slowly started to open it. She had been curious as to its contents from the moment she had received it. Her assumption had been that ti was some sort of diplomatic gift for Misato or some files. Yet now she was beginning to sense it was more important than that.

As the box opened she peered inside to reveal a thin circular disc, it was clear but she could see a variety of symbols present on it. Also in the container was a small USB storage device and a note.

_'With compliments. R-K'_

Asuka looked up at Misato in shock, "T-This is from..."

"Yes, it's from Kaji and it was left with the commander of that outpost merely days before you returned to the Wunder."

"So he is alive then?"

"It seems like it, for now anyway. Still playing the secret agent too apparantly. This is why I had to send you Asuka. I can't trust anyone else with this sort of task than you."

Asuka pulled the disc out of the box and examined it. She glanced over the symbols, her knowledge of ancient alphabets and languages was minimal so none of it meant anything to her.

"So what is this?"

"It's something a number of parties have been looking for for quite some time. Kaji himself was very interested in finding it. He claimed it was some sort of map mentioned in the secret Dead Sea Scrolls, a forgotten part of the Book Of Jubilees."

"A map to what exactly?"

"The tower of Babel."

XXX

Shinji sipped gently from the cup of water he had been given before leaning himself back on the couch. He looked around the room briefly before turning towards Sakura who was gazing down at him with concern in her eyes.

"Are you feeling better Shinji?"

Shinji smiled weakly and set the cup down, "I-I'm feeling a bit better, thanks."

Shinji could still feel himself trembling from the events in the cell but the dizziness had gone and his breathing was back to normal. His stomach was hurting a little bit but he expected that. All he felt now was the embarrassment of falling ill in front of Asuka and having to have been cleaned up by her and Sakura.

"Good, if you have any more problems just tell me alright?"

Shinji nodded, "Yeah... thank you."

Sakura sat down on the couch next to him. She seemed to be searching for something to say before finally blurting out, "Shinji, you were talking about my brother earlier right?"

Shinji nodded again, "Yeah... I thought was..."

Knowing what he did now Shinji couldn't quite bring himself to say the word dead, "When I was in NERV they had a dispenser for shirts. They were the same as what I wore to school. One day I received one that was a bit too big for me and... it had his name on the inside. When I learned about what happened to the world being my fault and I didn't see him on here I just... assumed he was... you know?"

Sakura frowned for a brief time but then giggled, "Well fortunately you were misled. Touji is absolutely fine and as I said, he's working as an engineer in, Neo-London I think it is. He's fine Shinji, you don't have to worry about him."

Shinji smiled before asking, "Neo-London?"

"Yeah but don't worry about it for now. A lot has changed in this world Shinji. I know you said you think you're to blame for it but it isn't quite that black and white. There is a lot to learn and I'll try to help you in any way I can but for now..."

Shinji interupted her, "But people are scared of me aren't they? Asuka told me..."

There was a nod, "If I'm being honest, yes people are scared of you. They don't know you though. They just see you as some reckless pilot who fought an Angel, went too far and the world changed afterwards. They might blame you and be frightened of you but... they don't know the truth."

"I don't understand that though, I don't even know the truth myself..." Shinji muttered.

"You will in time but... just rest for now Shinji. Don't think about it now, put on one of Captain Shikinami's games or a movie and just forget about everything. There is a communications system in here that you can use to contact me if you need it. You can get yourself food or something to drink but I'd advise against anything too strenuous, just focus on resting."

Shinji blushed, "T-Thanks... I will."

Sakura got up off the couch and started to walk towards the door, she got halfway towards pausing, "Oh and Shinji... Touji never blamed you once for what happened to this world. He and Hikari... they never stopped believing in you. I thought you'd like to know that."

XXX

Rei Ayanami sat on the edge of the bed and looked around the medical bay. It had only been a couple of hours since she had woken up inside of that strange tank. She had napped for an hour or so since being brought here and now thankfully her mind was no longer in the haze that it was. Rei was still feeling incredibly dizzy though and for now getting up off of the bed would have been a bad idea.

Akagi had told her that this sensation would pass eventually. That Rei's body was still adjusting itself to the treatment that had been administered and that dizziness was just one of a number of side effects that might occur. Upon hearing other potential side effects Rei was hoping that it would just be dizziness.

Rei's stomach gave a soft growl. Her hunger was most likely not helping her condition either. Unfortunately she had been told that it would not be possible for her to consume anything for another couple of hours. So for now she sat and watched as people moved around the lab.

She didn't know a single one of them and as she watched them they wondered what they knew of her, if anything at all. Did any of these people know who or what she was? Did they trust her or were they frightened of her? Rei had noticed that she had been fitted with a collar, similar to the one Shinji had been fitted with on his arrival at NERV. A symbol of WILLEs mistrust in her.

Rei was fine with this. She understood why it had happened and she understood what she was to these people. Even if they did not trust her or even if they disliked her she was quite content in the knowledge that she would be safe here and that it was a far better place and life than being in NERV.

Akagi had explained briefly exactly what had happened to her since she had arrived on the Wunder. On Rei's arrival she had collapsed whilst being escorted to one of the cells. From that moment it was discovered that her body was starting to finally break down. The lack of any medication over that week she had spent in the wasteland was taking its toll on her and action had to have been taken.

From what Rei understood of the little discussion Akagi had been there the moment she collapsed. She had worked around the clock to attempt to repair and restore Rei's body and ultimately her life. It was surprising to learn the amount of effort Akagi had gone to in order to keep Rei alive. Given the commanding and somewhat emotionless exterior Akagi presented it was hard to believe she would go to that much effort. Especially considering the conversation Asuka and Rei had prior to them arriving on the ship.

Rei didn't quite know how to express it but she was immensely thankful to Akagi for everything, and the other members of the team that had done this for her. Over the course of the week they had developed that tank for Rei. It had been filled with an altered LCL which would allow Rei's body to regenerate.

From there Akagi had developed a new treatment program. Whilst on board the Wunder Rei could if she wished utilize the tank once a month to perform the necessary maintenance on her body. Should this not be possible for some reason an injectable serum had been developed. Rei could use it once a week and it would provide what she needed. Akagi had ordered Rei to keep several vials of the serum on her person at all times, with absolutely no exceptions.

Rei felt very fortunate to have all of this done for her. No one had ever shown her this sort of kindness before, not even the people she was supposed to have been allied with. She knew that the people of this ship saw her as a threat and an enemy, yet they were willing to go to these lengths to preserve her life. She would do whatever she could to help them.

Rei's mind now wandered to thoughts of Asuka and Shinji. She had tried asking Akagi about the pair only to be met with an order to get some rest and a warning that information about the two was confidential. Although it saddened Rei that she couldn't find out anything about them she also understood.

For now though all she could do was think about the two of them and what they might be doing or about their experiences and journeys together. At first she thought about Asuka. Her first real memory of Asuka was in meeting her when Asuka had transferred to Tokyo-3. Back then Asuka was brash, arrogant and unlike Rei didn't seem to have any issues in interacting with others. She was a polar opposite to what Rei was and yet at the same time Rei could sense some of the same loneliness within Asuka that she herself had.

She could remember how she would observe Asuka during that time. She would watch as Asuka was rather withdrawn in her own way. Whilst she seemed to have little trouble talking to others she didn't seem to actively engage in any activities instead seeming to prefer the solitude of a small portable games device she carried around.

What was interesting is that whilst she kept people at a distance she didn't seem to do the same for Shinji. Back at that time Rei had wondered if it was because of Shinji's status as an Eva pilot. It would have made sense for Asuka to have kept him close for the sake of their small team. Of course back then Rei didn't know of the feelings Asuka had for her fellow pilot.

Coupled with this were thoughts of the relationship between herself and Asuka during that time. Back then it seemed like Asuka hated Rei. Rei thought that she didn't mind Asuka hating her but she knew it was untrue. As withdrawn as she had been she didn't want to be hated by anyone. On seeing Asuka again after so many years it seemed like this had not changed. Of course the Rei that Asuka had met so many years later was now the enemy. They were on opposite sides of a cause that Rei didn't even understand.

Rei knew now that this supposed hatred was not the case. Asuka was just a complicated person in the same way that they all were. How Asuka expressed herself was very different and Rei assumed that Asuka had her reasons for that. Maybe one day she would learn of them. For Rei though, she hardly understood herself at this moment. Her body had healed and she knew who she was but so many things were foreign to her. She had no idea really what it meant to be human.

As images of the redhead passed out of her mind she now started to think about Shinji. Rei wondered if Asuka had managed to secure any comfort for Shinji since they had gotten back to the Wunder. She hoped so, he had been in so much pain throughout their journey.

Rei was still uncertain of just what Shinji was to her. They shared a connection, that much was true but what was that connection. Was he a friend or something more? Rei was an artificial being that has been created from what had been left behind by Yui Ikari during the contact experiment. She was technically a clone of Yui yet it would be inappropriate for her to say she was Shinji's mother. She supposed the most appropriate term would be his sibling, as she rolled the idea around in her head it brought her warmth.

_'Shinji, my brother... I like this.'_

Rei's mind suddenly turned to her status here on this ship. She was now no longer near Shinji or Asuka. She was completely on her own in a room with people she didn't know. A deep sense of unease was starting set in as she watched these unknown medical officers move back and forth between stations and interact with one another.

_'Enemy... I am... an enemy to these people.'_

She turned the words over in her head trying to find some way to stem the tide of negative feelings they were creating. She began to feel herself tremble as darker thoughts were entering her mind. Until last week Rei was a part of NERV, the organization responsible for bringing to end the world these people cherished so much.

Although at the time she did not know of the pain and suffering in this wider world she wondered if that would matter to these people. Over a week ago Rei had attacked this very vessel, blown a hole in the side and escaped with their prisoner. That same prisoner who nearly brought about a fourth impact.

Merely days afterwards Rei had attacked the vessel once again, nearly destroying it as it tried to stop Shinji and Kaworu from making their grave mistake. She had potentially injured, no she had potentially killed people on here. Even if it wasn't what she had intended, even if she had been manipulated into it, would that matter?

She shifted herself uncomfortably onto the bed and wondered if she was safe again. Guilt and unease were eating away at her. Without Akagi here what would stop anyone from attacking her and saying it was an accident.

A member of the staff shot her a curious glance, their eyes made contact for a moment and Rei quickly looked away. She focused on the ground as she tried to stem these fears. What would happen to her now that she was here?

Katsuragi would probably want to speak to her, to interrogate her on what she knew. Rei was willing to tell her everything she knew. About her origin and about what she had seen in NERV. She didn't know how helpful it would be. In truth she knew very little of NERVs operations, she was little more than a tool to be used and discarded by the commander.

Did that make her useful or useless to WILLE then? After it was revealed that she knew practically nothing what would happen to her afterwards? Would she be allowed to stay about the Wunder or would she be cast aside. Would she ever get to see the others again?

Sadness started to creep in amongst the other negative feelings she was having. Rei could feel a burning behind her eyes and she realized that tears were forming. There was an extreme sadness she felt at the idea of not being able to see Shinji or Asuka again. She wanted to thank them for helping her and for her being alive.

_'Regardless of what happens to me here... it is better than being in that place... I am... I am alive and I am me at least.'_

Suddenly as if to halt the negative feelings another persons image suddenly popping into her head. It was of the other pilot she had encountered, the brunette with red rimmed glasses, a wide catlike smile and the pink plugsuit.

Rei felt some warmth rush through her as she thought of this person. Yet she didn't know why she was feeling this way, a small smile came to her lips.

Asuka had said that this person's name was Mari Makinami. Rei knew very little about her though. She could remember her from the time before the Near-Third Impact. Mari had arrived in Tokyo-3 some time before the fight with the tenth. She could remember Mari had piloted Unit 02 into battle after Asuka's incapacitation and had proven herself to be a very skilled pilot.

Rei suddenly found herself longing to see Mari again. It was strange to suddenly feel this way but she wanted to get to knew her better and talk to her more. At the same time Rei wondered if that would even be possible. Even with her status as a prisoner Rei didn't exactly know how to hold a conversation with someone and besides, would a person like Mari even want to talk to Rei?

Rei contemplated these new feelings inside her towards Mari. They brought her warmth and were helping her fight the fear she was feeling at the time. She thought of Mari smiling and sat next to her and she gently lay herself back on the bed and closed her eyes.

XXX

Asuka's head was still spinning by the time she returned to her quarters. She was coming off of the back of two of the more stressful weeks she had experienced for quite some time. Everything from recovering Shinji to stopping him from initiating a fourth impact, the journey across the wasteland, seeing him this morning and what Misato had revealed to her was spinning around in her head.

All she wanted to do right now was get back inside her quarters, have a shower and eat whatever junk food she had lying around in her fridge.

Misato's revelation was still somewhat hard for her to comprehend. That innocent looking artefact that Asuka had brought back was seriously supposed to be a map that would locate the mythical Tower Of Babel.

From what Asuka had seen of the artefact it certainly didn't look like a map. It looked like a clear plastic disc with hieroglyphs on. Hieroglyphs that neither she nor the ships computers could recognize. Asuka therefore wondered just what the point of having such a thing was if no one could understand it. Of course Misato had informed her that Akagi had a plan for that. She also informed Asuka that knowledge of the artefact was highly classified, only Misato, Akagi and Asuka were aware of it.

Asuka felt a deep sense of foreboding with that. It had been secrets like that which helped plunge the world into the state it was in. SEELE with their Dead Sea Scroll or NERV and Gendo Ikari with their own agendas. Now it seemed Misato was going down that same path. If this artefact could really do them any good. Asuka would rather have just taken the fight to NERV and SEELE.

It didn't help that Asuka had so many questions, none of which could really be answered right now. If this really was a map to the Tower Of Babel then what exactly was the Tower? It couldn't have been the actual tower of biblical yore. It had to have been some name that SEELE or NERV had given it. She knew just how fond both organizations were of their symbolism.

Beyond this what purpose did the tower serve. She knew some of the original story behind the tower. The legend of a great tower that would reach up the heavens, from a time when all of humanity spoke with one common language. She remembered that the story concluded with God putting a halt to the towers construction. He made it so that human's no longer shared a common language but now multiple and could therefore no longer completely understand one another. He then scattered them around the world and the tower was no more.

This was the myth at the very least. A myth that didn't really interest her, she preferred to deal with what was real and in front of her than ancient biblical stories. If this tower was supposed to exist then she would deal with that when she had to as well.

She just didn't like the idea of it at all. Misato was hiding something and as much as Asuka had faith in Misato she knew this sudden reliance on old stories or relics couldn't be good for any of them. For now though she tried to push these thoughts out of her mind, she was off duty and deserved a break.

She approached the door and was immediately struck by a strange yet very appetizing smell from its vicinity. She ran her card through the small reader and the door slid open. The first thing she noticed was the sight of neatly folded sheets on her sofa.

_'Shinji... of course...'_

Of the course of the afternoon Asuka had actually forgotten that Shinji would be in her quarters when she returned. She had been so busy with her meeting with Misato and then introducing and working with new recruits for the TARKUS Units she had forgotten.

What surprised her though was that the sheets had been folded and were sitting on the sofa. Rather than having Shinji underneath them. She turned her head and felt a brief surge of anger rush through her as the source of the pleasant smell was revealed.

Shinji was working in her kitchen. He was not resting like he had been ordered too but he instead was stood over a pan delicately stirring its contents. Off to one side were two plates, Asuka could make out a few potatoes scattered on them.

She silently watched him, her mouth open in awe as he placed what appeared to be a number of meatballs on each plate. This was followed by him covering them with a white sauce that he had been cooking in the pan.

She genuinely didn't know whether to yell at him for disobeying her order to rest, be happy that he had cooked her a meal or feel sad that despite all that had happened to him act he was doing this for her. He finished arranging the plates and slowly turned around. There was a sheepish look in his eyes as he met her glare.

"Ikari." She stood up straight and spoke with the same commanding voice she would use for the new recruits.

She could see small smile forming on his lips as he tried to avert his gaze. She almost wanted to smile back at him. She could feel her lips turning upwards but she kept up the act.

"I thought my orders were for you to rest!"

"S-Sorry... I was... I was feeling a lot better this afternoon and... I knew how long you had been away for and you probably hadn't eaten well and... I wanted to... I'm sorry..." Shinji scrambled to apologize and justified his actions. Asuka found it quite cute watching him.

She finally broke her glare and grinned, "Always apologizing huh? I'll forgive you for disobeying my orders just this once. On the condition that you really were feeling better."

Asuka made her ware over to the kitchen and leaned her arms on one of the counters to get a closer look at what he had made.

“So what did you make?”

“I looked up some recipes from Germany that I thought you might like this is called Könic… no wait Könaksbe-“

Shinji trailer off embarrassed as Asuka let out a laugh, “Königsberger Klopse?”

Shinji nodded with an embarrassed smile, “Y-Yeah… I can cook it just not… say it.”

“Well we can’t all be amazing and multilingual like me. Where did you get all of the stuff to make it? I’m sure I didn’t have all of this in my cupboards!” She pointed at the ingredients Shinji had out to make the German meal.

“I had Miss Suzahara help me, she took a list to the kitchens and got me them. She also let me know what time you got in from what you were doing. I wanted it to be ready for when you got back…”

Asuka turned away so that Shinji couldn’t see the blush that had formed on her cheeks. She was, for one of the very first times in her life actually speechless. Shinji had gone to all of this effort just for her. He had actually thought this through, gotten help and arranged it for when she got through the door. Maybe he wasn’t as oblivious and dense as she had once thought.

She took a seat at the small dining table and waited for Shinji to bring one of the plates over. He positioned it in front of her.

“Thank you.”

He went back to the kitchen to grab his own plate. His portion was a little bit smaller than hers, she was about to question him about it but then remembered he had been ill earlier that day.

Instead of speaking she wasted no time in picking up her knife and fork and cutting into one of the small meatballs. She got the half of it onto her fork and made sure it had some of the white sauce on it before bringing it up to her mouth and taking a first bite. As it approached her lips the wondrous smell of the sauce and meat filled her nostrils and she realized just how hungry she was.

She put the food into her mouth and began to chew. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Shinji had not started, he was peering down at his plate but looking up at her every so often waiting for her reaction. She swallowed the portion she had put into her mouth and immediately got another portion up onto her fork.

It was delicious, far beyond what she had been expecting to eat tonight. She would have been happen to indulge in junk food but having a full home cooked meal prepared by Shinji was much better. Not only that but for his first attempt at cooking something like this he had done magnificently. The meat melted in her mouth and the accompanying sauce complemented it perfectly.

She had known Shinji was a talented cook. He often used to cook fourteen years ago when they lived with Misato but she had only tasted his Japanese offerings. Whilst they were very good she had no idea how he might handle German food. It turned out he was very good at that as well.

“This is really good Shinji!” She said, her mouth still half full of food.

Shinji smiled and finally cut into his own meal, “T-Thanks… I’ve never cooked anything like this before so I didn’t know how it’d turn out.”

“You’re really talented, have you always cooked?” She inquired.

Shinji shook his head in reply, “Not really… I kinda had to learn out of necessity when I moved in with Misato. She… well you know that she wasn’t very good…”

Asuka let out a laugh, “She still isn’t. So you just did it because you had to?”

“Y-Yeah but I really enjoyed it. I liked making food for other people, it always made them happy and…”

Shinji trailed off as Asuka finished the sentence for him, “They praised you for it?”

“Yeah… It was something I was able to do for people that they liked me for and it wouldn’t end up hurting me either.”

She shrugged, “I don’t know about that you could have burnt or cut yourself.”

“You know what I mean… burns and cuts whilst cooking are one thing… they hurt but… being in Eva. All it ever did was bring me pain and then…” He nodded towards the window, “You saw what ended up happening there. Can’t really do that by chopping an onion…”

“If piloting the Eva only caused you pain then why did you continue?”

“I guess… I wanted to be praised by my father for it… I wanted to hear him say I had done a good job and maybe him see me as a son again. Also… other people needed me so it was nice to feel needed even if it did mean I’d be hurt. I finally had friends too… Touji and Kensuke, Ayanami and… even you…”

“Hold on, what do you mean even you? What was I not a friend or something?” Asuka frowned and took a sip from the glass of water Shinji had poured her.

Shinji laughed, “No of course you were but… I always thought you hated me or something…”

“That’s because you’re an idiot!”

“I know.”

There was no sadness in his voice as he said that. If anything he actually sounded happy and the two of them fell into a comfortable silence as they resumed their meals. After a few moments, much to Asuka’s annoyance her plate was empty. She immediately wondered if there was more or even if Shinji had secretly prepared a dessert. She pushed her plate forward, “That was really good Shinji. I think we might have made the right decision concerning you.”

Shinji looked up confused, “Huh, what do you mean?”

“I spoke to Misato today… I told her about my idea to put you in the kitchens and she said she is going to look into it. I can’t promise anything and it might take some time so you’ll have to stay in my quarters for now but is that alright?”

Shinji nodded, “Yeah, I don’t mind… thank you Asuka.”

“You can thank me by making me more meals like that and by not doing anything stupid. I’m sure you can manage that right?”

Shinji nodded again, “I think so.”

“Good.”

Asuka rose from her seat and slowly took off her jacket, “Now if you’ll excuse me I have to take a shower.”

She moved towards the bathroom before stopping, “Oh and Shinji, I’m still going to kick your ass in the simulator.”


	3. A Run In The Wilderness

Misato gazed over the railing along the entirety of the newly restored red Evangelion. She was positioned just at its shoulders as it lay horizontally, the huge entry plug sticking firmly out of its neck. She peered downwards towards the feet.

The room they were in was a darkened one, large and mostly empty save for a few technicians and of course Misato and Ritsuko. It was thick with the stench of recycled LCL, a smell that most of the crew were all too familiar with now and yet had never really gotten used to.

As their footsteps echoed around the room Ritsuko began to read out the technical details of the restored unit to Misato.

"The newly restored Evangelion Unit 02. Our technical team have nicknamed this one Evangelion Unit 02-D"

Misato peered up at one of the shoulder pylons and spied a 02-D had been painted on the side of it. She turned to her companion, "What is the significance of the D?"

"It's mostly a little joke on the part of our team in that this is our idea of the next generation of Evangelion Unit." Ritsuko replanted flatly.

"I see." Replied Misato.

"Calling this a restoration is something of a falsehood however. Whilst the organic component is the same that we have used for the previous Unit 02, it has undergone a number of alterations. In addition to this we have had to develop an entirely new frame for the Unit."

Misato ran her eyes along the Unit again and took in all of the major changes to Unit 02. For a long time they had been making do with recycled parts and salvage. It had over time no longer resembled the sleek unit they had received many years ago at NERV. What lay before them now was much more in line with that original design, although with a somewhat more primitive look.

Whilst aesthetics weren't really important to her she did make a point to observe how the armour of the bio-organic monster had changed. In front of them Ritsuko brought up a screen which displayed a front few of the unit.

The torso looked mostly the same, however gone was the white stripe along the middle. It was now a mostly red aside from the small orange highlights below the shoulder pylons and the purple markings around its neck.

The arms were now comprised of an orange primary with black marked on a number of places and black hands. The returning shoulder pylons were mostly red, with orange highlights for the retractable sections on the top.

It's face was now symmetrical again and also mostly red. White markings however were in place for where the mouth would be and where the eyes were. Just like all incarnations of Unit 02 there were four haunting green eyes in place.

Ritsuko continued to speak, "The first major different between this and the previous incarnations is the inclusion of a completed S2 Engine."

Misato turned around to face the scientist, "An S2 Engine? Weren't they declared too dangerous, remember what happened in Nevada?"

Ritsuko nodded, "At one time they were considered dangerous yes and whilst Nevada was a tragedy for all involved it was a long time ago. Upon further investigation we had reason to believe that it was not a fault with the engine itself but other hands that lef to it happening."

"You mean sabotage?"

"Indeed, there were many around at the time who would not like to see an Evangelion obtain that sort of power. We cannot of course rule out NERV and SEELE doing it themselves. That is why the UN and WILLE came to an agreement and work resumed on the S2 Engine in secret until we were able to produce a device that is stable and can be utilized in Unit 02."

Misato contemplated it for a few moments. Ultimately she knew that there was very little she could do about it even if she did disagree with its usage. Regardless she had very little reason to doubt what Ritsuko had told her. If Akagi said something was safe than it was going to be safe.

Besides it wasn't like they weren't already relying on unstable technology for their needs. It was quite easy to forget that the heart and power source for the Wunder was the unstable Unit 01.

Ritsuko did not wait for a reply and continued, "The installation of the stable S2 Engine will reduce our need for internal batteries for our Unit's. Of course the TARKUS Units rely on internals but they are much easier to produce and store than the ones we used for the Evangelion's."

"What about Makinami's Eva?"

"There is some internal debate on what to do regarding Mari's Eva and a decision has not yet been made on that front. I will explain in due course."

"I see, well producing and housing batteries for one Eva rather than two will still free up resources. What other upgrades have we made here?"

"We have made significant improvements to the armour plating of the Unit. The armour itself is much more lightweight than what we had previously but significantly more resistant, the pilot will have more control in combat of the Evangelion."

"That is good to hear."

"Indeed, not only this but we have completed an overhaul of the neural interfacing systems. Whilst we have not been able to perform actual field tests our in house testing has shown a 34% improvement in performance and synchronization. This should result in a stronger A.T. Field for the pilot."

Misato nodded again, "Asuka will be pleased to hear that."

"Which brings me to the final major change to the Evangelion."

Misato raised a curious eyebrow, "Which is?"

On the screen in front of them Ritsuko leaned in and closed the previous image of the front view of the Evangelion. In its place now was the interior of an entry plug but it was very different to what Misato had seen in previous plugs. It was a wider design and there were two control seats in place.

"What is this?"

"Duel Entry system. Whilst we are more than capable of having the new Unit 02 be piloted by Asuka alone we felt that due to the huge increase in power and performance the potential for risk to the pilot also increased."

"So if something happens to a pilot the other is there to take control?"

"Exactly. The system itself is based on some old designs for what became Unit 13, so we already know it works. We however have of course made some changes and improvements to the design."

Ritsuko paused for a moment, "I believe this should answer your question regarding Makinami's Unit."

"Pair her up with Asuka in Unit 02?"

"Indeed. The two should be able to synchronize with no problems and Makinami's presence should also stabilize Asuka."

"Stabilize Asuka?"

"Yes. In truth we can only go so far in our safety checks. As shown over the years the Evangelion Units are unpredictable beasts. This is far more powerful than anything we have dealt with with the exception of the awakened Unit 01. We don't know how this might affect Asuka and the contamination within her, having Makinami there will aid us should anything go wrong."

"I understand, I will inform both her and Makinami this afternoon about their new piloting duties. When can we arrange a field test?"

"I can schedule one for tomorrow morning."

XXX

Shinji found himself in that place once again. A heavy and destructive wind raged around him as he struggled to keep his balance, he gripped the railing tightly with both hands. His eyes scanned over the ruins in front of him. Where once a proud city stood now only lay death and destruction. Tokyo-3 was a shattered fortress, nothing and no one remained except for this strange group of people that had taken residence there.

He looked up to see one of the more disturbing sights of this strange new world. The moon had somehow been pulled down closer to the Earth. It was spinning rapidly in place with the surface streaked in what looked like blood stains.

Dotted around it were a number of upright bright red crosses. The scene resembled some sort of twisted and nightmarish war memorial.

Shinji slowly turned his head, his mouth was slightly agape in the shock of it all. He had already seen this, he had walked across the wasteland that had been created for nearly a full week. Yet the sight of this place was still so much for him to take in.

As he turned his head his heart lightened to see that Kaworu was also stood there. Just like before Kaworu was not dressed in the same large and bulky protective suit that Shinji was. Instead Kaworu was dressed just as he always had been, in a plain white shirt, black trousers and an orange t-shirt underneath. He stood just as he always did, with his hands in his pockets and he was looking out across the landscape.

Shinji’s heart lightened immediately at the sight of his friend. Kaworu was alive and he was here. Whatever fear Shinji had before immediately vanished. With Kaworu here he had nothing to be frightened of.

“Kaworu!”

Kaworu did not respond at first and Shinji instantly got the sense that all was not as it seemed to be. He watched as Kaworu’s face seemed to twitch slightly before he looked out across this broken world with a contemplative stare.

It was at this moment that Shinji realized that he had no real idea of what Kaworu was thinking or had been during their times together. Shinji had mostly spoke about himself and his feelings, Kaworu had encouraged it but Shinji had not really asked about Kaworu.

“Kaworu… are you alright?” Shinji asked apprehensively.

Kaworu slowly turned his head towards Shinji. For a moment Shinji thought that Kaworu was going to give him that heartwarming smile he had grown accustomed to over the short period he knew the boy. Instead Kaworu’s face remained frozen.

“You have seen it now haven’t you?”

“Seen what Kaworu?”

“The consequences of your actions… this world… the people you loved all gone or changed… you realize what it is you have done…”

Shinji nodded solemnly, “I-I… Yes, I know Kaworu… I know about what I did that day but I accept it. I can’t take it back or change that but…”

“You realize now that there is no place for you here.”

Shinji stepped back in shock at the boys’ words. There was a venom in Kaworu’s voice.

“Wait… I don’t understand Kaworu, there is… It’s not the same but I have a place here I have…”

“And how long will it be before you do to them what you did to this world and what you did to me?”

“To you? Kaworu I…”

Shinji watched in horror as a circle of small red diamonds formed around Kaworu’s neck. They began to rotate around him slowly.

“I was deceived by your father. I knew something was wrong and you didn’t listen to me.”

Shinji could feel the burning of tears in his eyes, “Kaworu I… I thought… the spears we had to…”

“Your refusal to listen and think of the consequences caused this world to be transformed. Your refusal to listen and think of the consequences caused the one friend you had to die.”

Shinji pleaded as a tear fell down his cheek, “Kaworu! I… I didn’t know… I… I’m sorry…”

Kaworu turned full towards him, “As am I Shinji. I am sorry I was unable to give you the happiness you deserved, even more so that you were unwilling to take it.”

“Wait Kaworu!”

Shinji screamed out as each of the red diamonds grew in size around Kaworu’s neck. There was a flash and a rush of gore as Shinji witnessed the death of his friend for a second time.

“KAWORU!”

Tears streamed down his face as he stumbled back in shock. His heart was pounding in his chest and he was struggling to catch his breath. What was happening to him? Was that really Kaworu? Did Kaworu really blame him for what had happened here?

He screamed out grasping for the railing behind him but found only an empty gap behind him. He looked behind him to see the ground below, stained with the blood of the Angel he had fought fourteen years ago. Stained with the corpses of the Failures of Infinity and littered with dozens of bright red crosses.

He tried to scramble for the railing again but the momentum had already taken him. All he could do now was to scream as he fell backwards towards the graveyard beneath him.

XXX

Shinji’s eyes flickered open and he found himself staring straight up at the unfamiliar ceiling of Asuka’s living quarters. He felt a tremendous pain in his chest and struggled to catch his breath. His first instinct was to roll off of the small couch and flee but as soon as he made any motion to move he felt a calming hand rest itself on his chest.

He tried to scream out but the sound got caught in his throat. He struggled to catch his breath. It was just like it had been earlier that day. The hand on his chest moved slowly up onto his shoulders and rubbed gently, he tried to focus on it as a calming and reassuring voice was heard.

“Shh… breathe, you were having a nightmare.”

Shinji was trembling violently as he started taking deep breathes, “K-K-K-Kawo… I-I… Ka-wor-“

He stammered but couldn’t get the words out. Again the voice was heard, it was a little bit sterner than before.

“Shinji, listen to me. It was a nightmare, just breathe and calm down.”

Shinji focused again on breathing. His breathes were deep as he tried to calm himself down. He could feel the person’s presence next to him as their entire arm came around him. Tears started to flow down his cheeks as he was pulled into a warm embrace.

“I killed him… It was my fault, he was the only person who was nice to me there and I let him die.”

“It was a bad dream Shinji…”

“But I…”

She shushed him again, “It’s alright. It was just a nightmare.”

Shinji let himself be held by the person. He let himself cry silently in the warmth of their arms. A gentle hand ran itself through his hair. It was just a nightmare. That hadn’t really been Kaworu standing there. Yet Shinji couldn’t help but feel the truth in the nightmare Kaworu’s words. If only Shinji had stopped to think of the consequence then maybe… just maybe…

Shinji slowly pulled away and using the back of his hand wiped away some of the tears. He looked straight up into the concerned face of Asuka.

“Feeling better?” She asked.

Shinji nodded, “It… It was just a bad dream.”

“Yeah, just a nightmare.”

Shinji let out a sigh. His body was trembling and his chest was still hurting from the experience but he was feeling some relief now.

“Just a nightmare… it was only a bad dream… just a nightmare…” he repeated under his breath. His breathing was returning to normal as he sat himself up properly to make room for Asuka on the couch. She didn’t say anything, he didn’t know if she was going to ask about his nightmare but he started to tell her anyway.

“I was dreaming about Kaworu…”

“I guessed, you shouted his name loud enough.” Asuka responded with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

Shinji blushed and turned away embarrassed that she had heard his nightmare, “Y-You heard me? I didn’t wake you did I?”

She shook her head, “Nope, I was awake and getting a drink when I saw you struggling. You looked like you were hyperventilating so I was keeping an eye on you. Thought about waking you up but thought it best to let you wake up naturally. Nothing I could really do about the panic attack either, couldn’t really give you the kiss of life while you were sleeping.”

Shinji laughed and shook his head. He supposed she was right, there wasn't really much she could have done whilst he was asleep.

"Yeah, you're right."

Asuka got up off of the couch and walked over to a small cabinet. Shinji watched as she took out a bottle and poured a liquid into a small glass. She handed it to him and he eyed it curiously.

"What is this?"

"Just drink it."

Shinji brought the glass up to his lips and got a sniff of the liquid within. He didn’t recognize the smell whatsoever but did as Asuka told him. He took a sip and swallowed, this was almost immediately followed by a burning sensation at the back of throat and a feeling of warmth through his chest. He coughed before putting the glass down on the small table to the side of the couch.

"What the hell was that?"

Asuka was nearly doubled over in laughter at the reaction, "That Shinji..."

She struggled to get her words through the laughter, "Was a gift from some ambassador, finest scottish whiskey. Not much of it left apparently."

Shinji groaned as he looked at the glass, he contemplated it a moment before lifting it and finishing the rest of the small quantity that was on there. The burning was nowhere near as bad the second time around.

"It tastes horrible..." He finally said.

Asuka sat herself down beside him and let out a laugh, "I know right?"

Shinji smiled as he began to feel slightly lightheaded, "Why did you give me that? I'm not..."

She shrugged, "Misato gave me a shot of some when I had a bad nightmare once. Said it was supposed to help calm me down."

"Did it work?"

"I can't remember. Misato gave me a bit too much, I drank it all in one go and threw it straight back up. You've done better than I have at least."

He laughed, "I don't think I'll be sick but I do feel lightheaded now..."

"Yeah it's strong stuff. I think the last time I had some was the night before I retrieved you. I don't remember much of that night but I remember how much my head hurt in the morning."

"Sorry..."

Asuka glared at him, "God you're so annoying, that's just your reflex to everything isn't it? Just to apologize."

He grinned, "Sorry..."

"You did that on purpose..."

"I know... sorry..."

"I shouldn't have gave you that stuff should I?"

Shinji shook his head, "Probably not. I feel better now at least."

Shinji brought his legs up onto the couch and snuggled his head onto Asuka's shoulder. She replied by putting her arm around him and rubbing his shoulder gently.

"It was just a nightmare Shinji, they're not real."

Shinji nodded slowly, "I know that but..."

His mind passed back over the nightmare. It had faded from memory now but he could still remember a few key details. Kaworu stood before him and talking to him with that accusatory tone. Kaworu was dead but Shinji had to wonder if Kaworu was here to say anything would he really blame Shinji for what had happened?

"But what?"

Shinji shook his head, "It doesn't matter... There isn't anything I can do about it now."

Shinji snuggled his head into her shoulder more and let out a short giggle. All Asuka could do was smile in response.

“I shouldn’t have gave you that at all. It’s gone straight to your head.”

Shinji brought up his hand and stared at it for a moment before clenching it into a fist and unclenching. He dropped it down along his side, “At least I’m not crying like I always do.”

“That is something I suppose.” Asuka replied. She wondered for a moment if maybe she should ask Shinji about his nightmare. Instead she just watched him as he snuggled himself alongside her, a smile on his face. She wouldn’t ask him about the nightmare, instead she’d just enjoy this mildly happy and mildly intoxicated Shinji.

“Asuka… you’re… I…”

“Yes Shinji.”

He got on his knees besides her and placed his finger on her nose, “You’re really pretty.”

“Idiot.”

“I’m serious, you’re pretty and… I like you.”

“I should hope you do considering what we’ve already done together.”

“And I…“ Shinji continued, “I really apprec… app…”

“Appreciate?” Asuka said the word for him with a wide grin.”

“That’s the one… I… that word everything… you did…”

“I know you do Shinji… I know.”

With those words Asuka leaned forward and picked the blankets back up off of the floor. She pulled them up and over herself and Shinji as they lay down on the couch together. She lay on her back with one arm around him. Shinji snuggled himself into her shoulder. It should have been uncomfortable she thought to herself, having another person so close to her on such a small surface. Yet it felt perfectly natural for her and within moments the two had drifted off to sleep.

XXX

Asuka was not in a good mood as she reached for control levers of Evangelion Unit 02. She almost snarled as she gripped hold of them tightly. She could sense the Cheshire cat-like grin of the person behind her.

The Wunder had landed in an open space a couple of hours ago to prepare for the first testing of the newly improved Evangelion Unit 02. She felt the LCL trickle into the expanded entry plug and took a deep breath to steady her nerves. She always got a small rush of nerves before piloting the Eva. She liked to put on a front that she didn't get nervous but it was always there at the back of her mind that something could go wrong, this could be her last time in the machine and she might not come back.

It was these thoughts coupled with her being brought up alone that pushed her to be the best. She had to be better than anyone, she had to be an elite pilot so that she would stay alive. Evangelion Unit 02 belonged to Asuka and Asuka alone. Only she could really feel that strange bond between human and Evangelion.

Which is why she was so annoyed at the ridiculousness of having to share the piloting duties with Mari Makinami behind her.

“Well well well Princess, here we are again. I have to say there’s quite a lot of room in here don’t you think.” Spoke a highly enthusiastic Mari Makinami.

“Oh shut up four-eyes, you know I don’t like this.”

“Aww did someone not get what they needed from the pu-“

Sensing just which direction Mari’s teasing was about to go, Asuka quickly put an end to it, “Finish that sentence and I swear I will end you.”

If Mari was intimidated or scared by Asuka’s threat she certainly didn’t seem it. Instead she just let out a laugh, “Alright fine. Why are you so mad anyway?”

“Are you stupid? Because I have to share a cockpit with you. At least in separate Eva’s I could tune you out, now I’ll have to put up with your incessant singing.”

“Hey at least I won’t be late to back you up from now on! Anyway don’t be so mad, admit it you’d rather have me here than a random cadet right? I mean wouldn’t be the first time we’ve been in sync right?”

“I’d rather not have anyone else in here, I’m perfectly capable of piloting this thing by myself.”

_‘Actually that’s incorrect Pilot Shikinami. Due to the changes made to Evangelion Unit 02 and the increase in power we now require two pilot’s to synchronize with it. One on their own would not be able to do it.'_

“Yeah, yeah! so you’ve already said.”

“Oh lighten up Princess, it’ll just be like that film! Remember, with the giant robots against the big monsters!”

“This isn’t a movie four-eyes. Let’s just… get this over with.”

“Right you are! We’ll get this thing out there, take it for a quick spin and be back in time for tea!”

XXX

Shinji stood peering out of the window of Asuka's quarters. Stood next to him was a silent Sakura Suzahara, her eyes glancing over the report she had brought with her. She didn't quite know what to say at a moment like this. She could see the nervousness written across his face but there also appeared to be something else there.

It was quite strange for her to be stood next to Shinji Ikari like this. A person who she had in many ways grew up idolizing. She had barely known him when she was younger, before the Near-Third Impact but she could remember the first time she heard about Shinji Ikari. The memory was quite a funny one, she had only been around four or five at the time. She was in the hospital in the aftermath of the fourth Angel attack. Something had happened which had prevented her from getting to a shelter in time, she couldn't quite remember what but it didn't matter.

During the battle Evangelion Unit 01, Shinji's Eva had crashed into a building. It had caused a section of wall to fall and land on Sakura. She had been badly injured by it and had to have been hospitalized. In truth she had been lucky to be alive.

Touji was furious of course, his little sister nearly killed by the ineptitude of the pilot of the purple and green monstrosity. She could remember him coming into the hospital one day with the same cocky swagger that he always had. He seemed especially happy on that one day as he recounted the story of how he had found the pilot of that robot and had punched him to get back at him for what had happened to Sakura.

If he had been expecting a good reaction from her he should have guessed again. Sakura stifled a giggle as she remembered her younger self telling Touji off for what he had done. She could remember calling him an idiot and saying that if it wasn't for the pilot then she or any of them wouldn't be alive at all. She demanded to know his name and then demanded her brother apologize to him.

Shinji turned his head at the sound of the giggling and raised a curious eyebrow, "Are you alright?"

Sakura nodded, "I'm fine, just remembering the first time I heard of you."

After that she had been pleased to learn that Shinji and Touji had became friends. She began to, in her own way, idolize Shinji Ikari. She'd hear the stories from Touji, more specifically Kensuke about how cool Shinji and the Evangelion were. She'd even dream about growing up one day and marrying Shinji, in the same way that most little girls dream about growing up to marry their Princes.

Of course she was much older now and there was no chance of that happening. Shinji didn't have eyes for her and she was fine with that, it would have been too weird. To Shinji she was probably still that little girl he had met only once many years ago and besides Sakura didn't think of him in that way anymore.

She still however wanted to be there for Shinji and help him in any way she could. She wanted to make sure he could adjust to his new world and have a chance at being happy. She wanted to help him in the same way that he had helped all of them back when she was still a little kid.

She glanced down, this time at her watch to check the time.

"They should be coming out in a few minutes."

Shinji nodded, "Yeah..."

"You wish you were there with her... don't you?"

Shinji nodded again, "Yeah..."

"Can I ask you something, what was it like... piloting the Eva?"

Shinji thought about it a moment trying to think of how to answer her. It was a strange feeling piloting an Eva, it wasn't like how people might imagine it to be. It wasn't like driving a car or controlling a player in a video game. He remembered that Rei Ayanami had once described it as a type of bond between pilot and Evangelion. The more he thought about it the more that description made sense.

"It's... strange. When you get into the cockpit you feel like you're someone else but you're still you. Like you're in two bodies at the same time I suppose..."

"Two bodies at the same time?"

Shinji nodded, "Yeah... it's like I'm me but there is this other me that is the Eva. It's like there is this presence around you, protecting you but you're the one in control."

"A presence... like someone else?" She asked, intrigued by what he was saying. The science behind the Evangelion was mostly unknown to her. She had the opportunity to learn about it but decided to go into medicine instead to help people.

"Yeah... it's all around you and protecting you. It's like that's the Eva itself but it's letting you control it."

"But I thought they were just big robots?"

Shinji shook his head, "That's what I thought at first but... they're giant... people I guess."

"People? And they just let us use them?"

Shinji wondered how much more about the Evangelion he could really tell Sakura. From this point he didn't really understand it himself. He knew the Eva's were grown and the armour acted as a restraint but from there he wasn't sure how it all worked.

"I wonder what they think, or who they really are..."

Shinji froze at that statement remembering something that had slipped out of his mind from his time in NERV. Fuyutsuki had shown him something at that time. His mother in piloting equipment and being placed into the heart of Evangelion Unit 01. Shinji felt a chill run down his spine as he realized the truth, the Evangelion when grown is just an empty shell and it needs something to make it work. He hadn't put it together yet but it made sense given all he had been shown. The thing inside Unit 01...

"Mother..."

"Huh?" Asked Sakura, not quite hearing what he had said.

Shinji shook his head, he hadn't meant to say that aloud. Instead he fixed his eyes on the window again, thankfully there was a sudden rumbling sound from further down and he could see the red behemoth known as Evangelion Unit 02 emerging from the Wunder.

"Nothing. I... don't know... look there's Asuka now!"

XXX

"Hey Princess, I bet the puppies at your window come to see you on your test, why don't we go and give him a wave!"

"Oh shut up!" Barked back Asuka. She gripped the control levels again and felt the trembling of her Unit as it was picked up by the docking lifts inside the Wunder. She could feel the Eva be hoisted upwards before being moved out into the vast wasteland that was the Wunders landing site.

Behind her Mari scanned her eyes over a tactical display map that had appeared above her cockpit. With a flick of her wrist the map span around and she dragged out a marker to a part of the map. As the sunlight from outside streamed into the cockpit she smiled.

"Tactical displays are working as intended with an 84.52% accuracy. Eastern Europe is looking beautiful this morning, don't you think Princess?"

Asuka scowled, "It looks like the same red wastelands we see everywhere else."

There was a bump as the lift halted and held the Evangelion in place for a few short moments. Asuka prepared herself to react to the drop. Her eyes closed and she could picture herself for a few brief moments as the Evangelion. The lift released Unit 02, it dropped to the floor and she immediately braced herself and landed gracefully.

_'The aim of this exercise is to test the primary functions of the new Unit. You will travel to a location, from there we will send out a number ot practice beacons. You will locate and destroy them all before returning to the Wunder'_

Asuka nodded, "Understood. Four-Eyes, did you get that?"

"Aye-aye captain!" Piped up Mari enthusiastically.

_'We are sending location data now. Good luck pilots.'_

Mari's eyes scanned over her tactical display once again as new data began to appear on the bottom right of it. She immediately focused and realigned the marker she had placed earlier to match the new location that had been transmitted to her.

Above this feed were a series of statistics, she gave them all a read before passing them through to Asuka.

"We have switched to S2 Engines only. Weapons systems and targeting are online. Life support is optimal. We are good to go Princess."

With another flick of her wrist she bashed playfully at the map. She glanced at Asuka seated in front of her and watched as a blue holographic minimap appeared to the right of where the redhead was sat. Asuka gave it a quick look and the Evangelion started to move.

"You sure you don't want to wave goodbye to the puppy first?"

Asuka didn't give Mari the satisfaction of a response. Instead she focused on moving Unit 02 to the location marked on her mini-map. The ground thundered beneath the Evangelions feet as she started to pick up speed into a light jog. As they passed the section housing the crew quarters within the Wunder she couldn't help but give it a little look and think of Shinji.

She continued to move Unit 02 across the vast red space taking the speed of the Unit up somewhat. Ritsuko had been correct when she said the Unit would feel lighter to handle. The same weight she used to feel when piloting the previous variations of Unit 02 no longer seemed to be there, the synchronization was feeling that little bit more perfect.

After a minute of jogging they finally reached their destination. Asuka brought the Unit to a halt and turned it to face the Wunder once more.

"Destination reached, AAA Wunder are launching the supply crate now."

Asuka focused on the distant form of the Wunder and watched as a trail of red smoke suddenly erupted from a point on the ship's hull. It shot high up into the air and the two pilots continued to observe it as it moved across to their position. Mari's eyes came back to rest upon her tactical display. A new blip had appeared on the radar sending out a pulse every second or so.

"Supply drop has been launched, it will land in... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1..." Mari reported.

True to the brunettes words a large rectangular box landed softly on the ground next to them. It popped up to reveal a black palette rifle within. Asuka wasted no time at all in getting Unit 02 to pick up the weapon.

"Wasting no time Princess, they're launching the beacons now."

Five more smoke trails erupted from the hull of the Wunder. These moved much quicker than the supply crate had done.

_'Beacons launched, the task is simple. Seek them out and destroy them.'_

Asuka grinned, "Easy, four-eyes let me know where they are."

Five new blips suddenly appeared on Mari's display, "No problem Princess, we have one approaching at two o clock, fifty metres from our position."

Asuka turned Unit 02 to face the targets position and scanned the sky for it. It took her barely a second to find the black drone hovering in the air. She raised the rifle and fired a few gentle shots in its direction. There was an explosion as the bullets ripped through it and she grinned as the debris fell to the earth below.

"One down, four to go."

"Good job Princess, I'm seeing two more targets appearing. One at five and seventy metres, the other at nine and one hundred and fifteen metres."

Asuka turned the Evangelion towards the closest target. She scanned the horizon again for it and moved forward. Unlike the previous one this drone was not static in the air, instead it appeared to be following a simplistic pattern moving back and forth.

Asuka hoisted the rifle up and compensating for the distance and the motion of the drone fired again. Just like the previous drone contact was made, bullets tore through it and sent it spiralling down to the ground below.

She wasted zero time in turning the Evangelion towards the third target. This one was flying more erratically with no discernable pattern. It was also flying closer to the ground. Deciding that this one would be a good try for the new progressive knife that had been installed into Unit 02 she summoned it from the compartment on her shoulder and broke into a spring towards the drone.

 _'So far, so good.'_  She thought to herself. It was only a simple training exercise but she was enjoying how this new and improved Unit 02 handled, even if she did have to share the piloting duty with Mari. Everything she had been told so far was right, it did feel lighter to handle and the responsiveness was a lot tighter.

Asuka had always been an exceptional pilot. She had been training with the Evangelion from as young as she had been allowed to. Even when she had lost her eye she still managed to remain exceptional surpassing all expectations laid out before her. Taking on five mindless drones was no big deal.

She finally caught up with the fourth drone and plunged the knife through its hull. Mari gave a small clap from behind and read out the locations of the final two.

"Okay Princess I'm seeing two more right on our six they're..."

There was a sudden rumble from the ground below. Mari gazed at the map again as the two blips suddenly vanished. Confused she ran her hand across the display panning the map for any trace of them.

"Come on Princess, haven't got all day here. Where are they?" Asked an impatient Asuka.

"I-I... they just vanished! No wait..."

Mari jumped back in surprise as her display suddenly lit up with a wide number of blips surrounding Unit 02.

"They're... all around us?"

"What do you mean all around us? I know I've got one eye Mari but even I can see that there is nothing the-"

Asuka was cut off again as the ground suddenly heaved beneath her knocking the Evangelion off balance. Mari yelped out as the tactical display went silent once more.

_'Evangelion Unit 02, come in. What's going on out there?'_

Asuka barked back, "How should I know, your final two targets disappeared and then..."

She brought Unit 02 back to a standing position and scrambled towards flatter ground. Mari recovered herself in the seat behind Asuka and started panning the map again. She gasped in shock, "Princess, we have a problem. One big target just appeared... I'm bring up the data right now..."

Mari focused her eyes on the map whilst Asuka shifted the Evangelion towards the targets position. She felt herself tense up at the image before her.

_'Pilots we have a problem, systems have just detected...'_

"Yeah we know Wunder I'm seeing it here, Code Pattern Blue it's an..." Mari replied frantically before looking up from her display and seeing the beast before them and stopping her sentence. For once she had been stunned into complete silence.

Asuka marveled at the monstrosity before them. It was about three quarters the height of Evangelion Unit 02 but around the length of an aircraft carrier. It's body was white in colour with distinctive red markings along its sides. The front end comprised of a large beak like mouth, it opened and closed at the lumbering beast moved towards them. Inside the mouth a large number of sharp, shark like teeth could be seen within.

The beast walked on six squid like tentacles, three on each side. It gave the impression that this monster was not native to the land but should instead be inhabiting the seas.

She picked up exactly where Mari had trailed off, "Angel."


	4. On The Backs Of Angels

All he could feel as he made his move towards the door was the warm hand grip him firmly around the wrist and hold him in place. His first instinct was to shake himself free. To struggle against it and continue running but he didn't. There was a small voice inside his head persuading him to not do that and to stay in place.

Slowly he bowed his head and felt his hair come down over his eyes. He turned slowly to see Sakura staring straight at him. Her eyes boring holes straight through him. He noticed that for the first time since meeting her she actually looked angry.

When she spoke it was not the sympathetic voice of the medic but it was an instruction, an order.

"Shinji, you can't!"

Shinji didn't want to hear it. He had seen what had happened out there, he could see the grotesque being that had appeared before Unit 02. He knew what it was.

"I-I have to help her! That's an Angel out there!" He pleaded and as he did so made something of an attempt to struggle away from her. All he got in response was her hand tightening more around his wrist.

She spoke again, once more with the same deliberate speech as before.

"You can't do anything Shinji. You can't get into an Eva anymore and even if you could there isn't one here for you."

"B-But..." Shinji started to speak, he looked past her through the window again and saw both Unit 02 and the Angel. He started to turn to face the door again and felt pain starting to set in from the girls grip. She was a lot stronger than she looked he thought to himself.

"Asuka is out there, they can give me one of the other machines they have! I have to help her Sakura!"

He made a motion to move again but had barely taken one step before Sakura pulled at his arm in a surprising show of strength. He felt himself fly backwards towards the window before she quickly grabbed both of his shoulders and pinned him up against the wall.

"SHINJI!" She shouted as he made every attempt to avoid eye contact with her. There was a terrifying intensity in her eyes. He almost laughed as a thought ran through his head.

_'She definitely has Toujis eyes.'_

"Sakura..." He finally muttered.

"Listen to me Shinji. There is nothing you can do out there! You have to understand that. You can't just run out there and demand to fight or help Asuka. Think about what's happened to you since you've been here! Think about all you know about this world and the others on this ship and Shinji... Think about what Asuka would say if you even made that attempt."

Shinji met her gaze for a moment and felt himself calm down. He slackened her grip on him and he merely stood there before turning to look out of the window. Neither Unit 02 or the Angel had made any move yet. Both monsters seemed to be locked in an intense stand-off.

After a few moments he let out a sigh and shook his head. Sakura was of course correct, there was nothing her could do at the moment. Misato wouldn't let him pilot anything at the moment and besides he couldn't face Misato right now. Any of the other people on board were just as likely to throw him in a cell or shoot him if he ran out there.

As for Asuka, when he thought about it if she saw the way he was acting right now he knew exactly how she would react. After all she had done to ensure his safety, the risk she had taken just having him stay in these quarters he decided it wouldn't be the best way to pay her back.

Yet Shinji wanted to desperately do something. He knew Asuka didn't really blame him anymore but he still felt so much guilt over what had happened when he sat back and did nothing when Asuka was inside Unit 03.

He spoke, "I just... I want to help her Sakura. Last time she was alone inside Unit 03 and I did nothing... Asuka got hurt badly and..."

Sakura's face finally softened into the more sympathetic look he had grown accustomed to, "I know all of that Shinji but this isn't the same situation. She couldn't do anything then and this... well this isn't your choice. Besides..."

She trailed off for a brief moment before grinning, "Don't you have faith in your girlfriend?"

Shinji felt himself glow a deep shade of red as her words sunk in, "Huh... G-Girlfriend?"

She responded by giggling, "Of course silly, she Is your girlfriend right? I mean I've never seen her act the way she does with you around anyone else. She almost smiles when she talks about you and besides... you love her right?"

Shinji felt himself nod in response. The truth was he hadn't really thought about Asuka as being his girlfriend. There hadn't been much opportunity for them to talk about their relationship or even give a name to it. It wasn't like this world provided them much in the way of traditional dating opportunities. In his mind he had always envisioned taking her out somewhere nice, having a nice meal and a romantic walk along the beach.

Yet when he thought of what they had done together from his return through to now it did seem to confirm it. Sakura was right, he did love Asuka and whilst he didn't know if she loved him he knew she did have some feelings for him. Otherwise she wouldn't have kissed him the way she did yesterday, she wouldn't have made love to him on their journey back to the Wunder. They wouldn't have held each other so much.

"I... I never really thought of it like that. We haven't really spoken..."

Sakura smiled back at him, "Maybe when she returns you should. Look, I know this isn't easy Shinji. We all wish we could do more when we see our friends and loved ones out there fighting and defending us. We all want to help but we can't just rush out and demand to fight like they can. You're not an Eva pilot anymore Shinji..."

Shinji sighed again, "I know that... I just..."

"But that doesn't mean we can't help them in our own way though."

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"We can do little things Shinji. When we see them fighting we can hope and believe in them. We can make sure we're there for them in between battles. Welcome them back and make them happy whilst they're here. I'm the serving medic on this ship so I'll patch them up so they'll be able to fight again, I'll keep them in good health. We can all do little things."

Shinji glanced out again, both figures were still locked in their stalemate. He felt his hand clench into a fist before unclenching, "I'm not a medic of anything though. I don't really know what I can do, Eva is the only thing I was good at."

"You know that isn't true Shinji. Look I didn't know you when you were younger so all I had to go on were stories but I know you're a kind and compassionate person. I know you're good at things and from what I understand you're a wonderful cook. You can use that to make sure Asuka has something nice to return back to."

"You mean cook for her... like I did yesterday?"

Sakura nodded, "Not just that but support her. I know Asuka doesn't show it but she does need support, we all do. Asuka is just good at hiding it and you're probably the only person she might trust to give her it."

Shinji's mind suddenly flashed back to one of the nights on their journey home. He remembered how Asuka had come into the tent and spoke to him about her past and her life growing up. He could remember how she had broken done in front of him and slowly he nodded. Sakura was right, for all the front that Asuka put on she was just as fragile as any of them could have been.

He felt like he should maybe have already known this. Recalling an incident from when they lived with Misato and she had snuck into his room and asked to lie near to him. He didn't think much of it at the time but maybe that was a hint that she wasn't quite as strong as she let on.

He started to think about the idea of welcoming her back after her victories. Being there to hug her and telling her how amazing she looked. Letting her know he was there for her and holding her if she was ever upset. He could even hear her voice in his head.

_'Of course I looked amazing! Did you expect anything less?'_

"Y-Yeah... I'll do that then."

XXX

Asuka gritted her teeth and looked straight ahead at the Angel. Neither the Angel nor the Evangelion had moved from their respective positions for the last minute.

"So what's plan four-eyes, what are your tactical read-outs saying?" Asuka growled impatiently.

Mari gave a nonchalant shrug, "Code Pattern Blue, it's definitely an Angel. Showing a height of forty five metres and a length of about two-hundred. It's a big bugger isn't it?"

Asuka scowled, "I'm guessing that's you talking and not the computer."

Mari laughed, "You know me so well princess. Yeah computer isn't giving me much at all, trying to pinpoint a core location as we speak but it might be some time. My recommendation, we shoot it until it dies."

Asuka grinned, "Direct and to the point, I like that plan."

Asuka felt that they had wasted far too much time waiting for feedback and data on the Angel. It was now time for them to act. She gave the battlefield a quick-scan looking for anything that might be of use to them. She had the rifle and her progressive knife so that was something. Unfortunately everything else was fairly flat. They had landed in quite a spare section of land, just flat red wasteland for miles around.

Of course judging by the size of the monster it should be fairly slow to move and turn. This gaze Unit 02 some advantages but then the Angel's always did have a few tricks up their sleeves. Asuka knew she would have to be careful, there was no point in being reckless.

Finally she brought the rifle into position and aimed it towards the Angel and fired off a volley of shots. As expected there was a bright orange glow as each bullet bounced off of the Angels A.T. Field.

The Angel responded immediately as a bright white laser-like blast erupted from a circular red marking on its neck. Asuka quickly dodged Unit 02 out of the way rolling to one side as the blast narrowly missed them. She brought the rifle around and fired another volley at the Angel watching as more bullets bounced off of its A.T. Field.

The Angel fired back another blast from a different marking on its neck and started to slowly turn to face the Evangelion. Asuka nimbly dodged the blast again with a roll and began to strafe to her left firing off controlled volleys as they did so. Each volley was met with a bright flash as the bullets bounced off of the A.T. Field of the Angel and a response from the Angel’s laser attacks.

“Hey Princess, is it me or is this tactic just not working.” Mari called out as Unit 02 again effortlessly dodged another attack.

Asuka gritted her teeth bringing the Eva out of another roll. This time the Angel sent another blast directly at them. She threw the rifle down to one side and dodge out of the way of the blast. She was immediately thankful for the improvements that had been made as the blast missed them by mere inches.

In a swift motion she released the progressive knife from Unit 02s shoulder compartment and shot back to Mari, “Well I think we’ve tested its ranged defences, time to get in close I think…”

“Uh Huh…” Mari grinned in response, “So what now? Hack it to death? Don’t forget Princess we still got an A.T. Field to content with and if these readings are anything to go by, it’s a bloody strong one!”

“No shit, here’s what we’re going to do. AAA Wunder are you reading me?”

 _‘Reading you loud and clear Asuka, what do you need?’_ Replied Misato through the comm channel.

“You got any more of those drones on board?”

_‘The practice ones? Yeah about thirty or so. What were you thinking?’_

“They have any weapons systems?”

_‘Nothing that’ll pierce that A.T. Field unfortunately.’_

“Doesn’t matter all we need is a distraction, can we borrow half of them?”

_‘They’ll be on their way.’_

XXX

Misato stood with her arms folded watching the tactical screen at the front of the ship. She turned her head towards her Vice-Captain. They hadn’t anticipated encountering any more Angel like entities. They were supposed to all be gone now. Regardless it didn’t matter, the systems had confirmed everything. The being in front of them was an Angel.

She thought over Asuka’s plan in her head for a moment. Create a distraction for the Angel to allow Unit 02 to scale it and hopefully destroy it. It was a good plan, Asuka wasn’t their best pilot for nothing. Yet more could be done, if they really wanted to distract the Angel they’d need something with a bit more firepower.

She scanned her eyes over the bridge crew. Aside from Ritsuko her most senior staff were Hyuga and Aoba, they could handle the launching and monitoring of the drones, they left her with the four others. One experienced officer on the engines and three inexperienced. Yet they would all prevail just as they had done previously.

As if knowing that Misato was planning something, her first officer was quickly by her side, “What are you thinking Captain?”

Misato didn’t turn to face her friend but instead gave a nod towards the screen, “Is Unit 02 capable of defeating the target?”

Ritsuko confirmed it for her, “Capable? Yes. Evangelion Unit 02 is at this moment in time the most advanced Evangelion Unit that has been developed. With that said it will not be an easy task, our MAGI systems are detecting a highly powerful A.T. Field from the Angel, they have not yet been able to locate the core and it might take more resources than we can realistically commit.”

Misato nodded, “That’s what I was thinking. Yet we can’t leave it there, it has to be destroyed.”

“I agree, so what is your plan?”

Misato gave a small smirk, “We engage the enemy. Takao, what is the status of our engines?”

The large bald headed man turned his chair around in order to give his answer, “Maintenance teams have reported no problems with the engines. The Cool-Down procedures from our landing have been completed and we can initiate a start up on your command.”

Misato gave a nod, “Good. Kitakami, what is tactical saying?”

Misato watched as the pink hair girl sat at the sonar station cast her eyes over the array of dials and screens in front of her, “Reading one hostile and that’s the Angel.”

Misato now turned her attention towards the ships helmsman, “Nagara, when engines come online I want you to be ready to get this thing up to a height of one hundred and twenty five metres, understood?”

“Aye captain.”

Finally Misato turned towards the final of the Wunders recruits, “Tama, I want you to scatter our fire across the Angels right flank.”

“R-Right!”

Misato took a step forward to address the entirety of her bridge crew on her plan.

“Our objective is to weaken the targets A.T. Field and create a distraction for Unit 02. We will engage in a series of bombing runs consisting of ourselves and fifteen training drones. This should get the attention of that monster down there and also give Kitakami enough time to pinpoint the Core of the Angel.

First we will reach our target height and then release five drones. They will travel directly over the top of the Angel and attack at various points along the hull. We will follow and focus out fire and points along its right flank. We will repeat this, until fifteen drones have been released and by that time we should have destroyed the target. Am I understood?”

“Yes Captain!” Came the simultaneous shout from all four of the bridge staff. Misato took position in the centre of the bridge and surveyed the battlefield one final time.

“Engage!”

XXX

There was an almighty rumble as the ship suddenly sprang to life. Caught completely unaware by it Shinji put his hands out to steady himself against the wall or end up falling over. From all around he could hear the deafening sounds of the ships engines starting to lift them up into the air.

“W-What’s happening?”

Sakura rushed to the window and shot a concerned glance outwards as the ship started to lift itself up and slowly rotate itself to face the Angel.

“They’re going to fight it…” She muttered.

“Fight it? You mean we’re going to help Unit 02?”

Sakura nodded and Shinji watched as the enormous AAA Wunder began to slowly make its way forward towards the Angel and Unit 02. Misato was bringing the Wunder in to help Mari and Asuka, he knew the ship had some defenses on it but would it really be able to take on an Angel?

Shinji had been watching keenly as Asuka and Mari had been attempting to fight the Angel. He watched and quietly cheered them on as they made repeated attempts to break through the A.T. Field of the beast, all the time wishing he could help in some way.

The Wunder seemed to come to a complete stop and gently hover for a moment. In that time all the lighting in the room suddenly shut itself off, there was the sound of a siren and a red light illuminated them.

_‘This is Captain Katsuragi to all crew of the AAA Wunder. We are about to enter a combat situation, all hands to your posts. This is not a drill.’_

Shinji had no time to react before he felt a warm hand clasp itself around his and start to pull. He turned himself towards Sakura, “What are you…”

She cut him off, “You heard her, I have to report to the medical bay and you’re coming with me!”

“B-But I don’t… I can’t…”

“I’m not leaving you here on your own you could be hurt and besides… this is your chance Shinji. You can help them.”

“But I don’t know how to, I’ve never been trained in first aid or anything!”

“Do you know how to treat cuts and burns?”

Shinji nodded, his heart was pounding in his chest from fear.

“Good, we’re understaffed Shinji we could really use your help.”

Shinji thought about it very quickly. If he stayed in here all he’d be doing was watching as they fought the Angel. He’d be frightened and worried about Asuka constantly. At least there he might be able to do something. Finally he nodded, “I-I’ll do it then…”

XXX

“AAA Wunder has increased its altitude to one hundred and fifty metres. They’re bringing weapons systems online and starting to move. Looks like we’re going to have some friends in this battle!” Grinned Mari, clearly enjoying herself.

Asuka smirked, “Trying to take our glory eh Misato?”

Asuka glanced ahead just in time to dodge a blast from the Angel as she continued trying to run Unit 02 alongside it. She had as of yet been unable to close the distance between themselves and the Angel. It seemed that the closer she got the more accurate the Angel got. Even with the enhancements made to Unit 02 she just wasn’t fast enough, a fact that was starting to frustrate her.

She jumped over one of the blasts and as she came down immediately executed a combat roll out of the way of another one. Mari tapped a few more buttons on her display, “Tell you what Princess, I think we need a soundtrack for this.”

“What the hell are you talking abo-“

Asuka was cut off as the sudden sound of drums and guitar fill the cockpit of the Eva. She sighed as a piano melody started to play and focused her attention on making sure Unit 02 didn’t get hit by the Angel.

“Fine, just promise me one thing!”

“Anything for you princess!”

“No. Singing.”

“Aww, you used to like it when I sang to you!”

“NO… SINGING!” Asuka yelled back as another blast narrowly missed them.

“Fine! No singing, you’re not fun.”

Asuka continued to run alongside the Angel desperately trying to find and opening. She turned themselves around to see the Wunder start to come towards them and also witness five of the drones be released from the top of the Wunders hull. Each of the drones shot forward passing over the top of the Angel and each one releasing a barrage of bullets downwards. Each barrage bounced effortlessly off of the Angel’s A.T. Field.

In response the Angel immediately aimed an attack of its own up towards the drones. Four out of the five we able to dodge out of the way but the fifth was not fast enough. It exploded in a mass of flame and steel and was sent crashing to the ground.

Asuka let out a grin as the vocals started to come into the song and she realized that the Angel was finally distracted.

_‘The sirens are screaming and the fires are howling,_   
_Way down in the valley tonight’_

She held out the progressive knife and started to move forward. As she started to move a gargantuan shadow was suddenly cast across the battlefield. She looked up to see the AAA Wunder start to make its move over the opposite side of the Angel.

Asuka and Mari both watched as fire rained down from the Wunder targeting anywhere and everywhere on the hull of the Angel. There was bright orange flash after bright orange flash as the A.T. Field of the beast was barraged from the Wunders weaponary.

Mari called out excitedly, “The Wunder is doing it! A.T. Field is weakening!”

“Perfect!”

_‘Oh baby you’re the only thing in this whole world that’s pure and good and right_   
_And wherever you are and wherever you go, there’s always gonna be some light’_

Asuka jumped Unit 02 up into the air and readied the knife for an attack. She could see on the opposite side the Angel was having difficulties knowing what to and what not to target. The Wunder had just reached the end of its bombing run and had released another five drones up into the air to join up with the four that had been released moments before.

A blast from the Angel tore through two more of the drones sending them spiraling downwards and crashing into the A.T. Field. Each exploded with a bright orange cross shaped explosion as the Wunder brought itself about to start the second its bombing runs.

Asuka brought her attention back to her task. She focused everything she had into expanding Unit 02s A.T. Field and stared straight ahead for the inevitable collision with the Angels field. Unit 02 was coming downwards out of its jump, they would collide soon.

_‘When it’s over you know, we’re both be so alone.”_

Asuka screamed as she brought the knife down to pierce the field of the Angel. The knife smashed into the field and there was a bright orange flash and a ripple of octagonal flashed erupting all around them. She brought the knife down again.

_‘Like a Bat Out of Hell_   
_I’ll be gone when the morning comes!_   
_When the night is over like a Bat Out of Hell_   
_I’ll be gone-gone-gone!’_

Asuka repeated the motion one more time. This time there was a loud cracking sound as the knife finally pierced through the field completely. From the other side there was a loud explosion as the barrage of fire from the Wunder and the drones slipped through the Angel’s fractured A.T. Field and smashed into the hull.

Asuka readied herself to land on the back of the Angel. Destruction continued to rain down on the Angel as the Wunder passed over them for a third time. Asuka and Mari quickly looked up to see only six drones remained out of the fifteen that had been released. The Angel seemed to have given up on attacking the drones no focusing its attention entirely on the Wunder.

There was a loud howl of pain from the Angel as another blast from the Wunder tore into its hull. It responded with a blast of its own, hitting the hull of the Wunder and sending chunks of debris down onto the ground.

Asuka fired up the intercom, “Shikinami to the Wunder! Get the hell out of there Katsuragi! We’ve got it from here!”

_‘Understood! Wunder out.”_

“MARI FIND ME THAT FUCKING CORE!”

Asuka brought Unit 02 down into a kneeling position and watched as the Wunder started to make an attempt to flee. It continued to focus fire down upon the Angel but with every single direct hit the Angel would respond with one of its own.

“QUICKLY!”

“We’re getting the transmission now it’s… It’s in the bastard’s mouth! Back of the throat!”

Asuka groaned, “Great, so now I have to play dentist! Let’s get this over with.”

“Roger that Captain Shikinami!”

_‘And I know that I’m damned if I never get out,_   
_And maybe I’m damned if I do_   
_But with every other beat I got left in my heart,_   
_You know I’d rather be damned with you!’_

The Angel shook itself violently suddenly aware of the large Evangelion that was running along its back. Asuka yelled out and struggled to keep Unit 02 on its feet. She numbly jumped into the air and brought herself down upon the centre of the Angel’s back once more.

_‘Gotta be damned you know I wanna be damned._   
_Dancing through the night!_   
_Dancing through the night!_   
_Dancing through the night with you!’_

From this point Asuka was able to survey the damage that had been done to the Angel. It was extensive. The fire from the Wunder had managed to help nullify the A.T. Field but had also made their mark upon the body of the beast itself. Large chunks of flesh now hung from the Angel, LCL dripped from the wound pooling on the ground below.

As Asuka looked up she could see the head of the Angel coming into view as it reared itself upwards. She prepared for another attempt to be shaken off but it didn’t come. Instead she watched as each of the red markings suddenly started to glow. As they did they began to transform themselves into shell like fins running along the neck, they seemed to breathe as Mari called out.

“Um Princess… I’m starting to pick up additional targets…”

Asuka didn’t need Mari to say any more than that. Suddenly a large number of insect like creatures suddenly burst forth from the pulsating fins of the Angel. She quickly span around to turn to Mari.

“How many?”

Mari’s eyes scanned frantically over the display, “I… I don’t know… twenty… no fifty… no... there’s… there’s too many and they’re going after the Wunder!”

 _‘Schiesse’_ Asuka cursed under her breath, _‘I need to end this now!’_

XXX

Shinji ignored any stares he may or may not have been receiving from the crew stationed on the decks of the Wunder as he rounded yet another corridor. He had been following Sakura in complete silence since they had left Asuka’s quarters, all the while he kept his head down to try to avoid any eye contact with the crew members. Most of them seemed to be too busy to be concerned with him.

Finally they made it into the medical bay. He followed Sakura over to a small station and washed his hands as he took a look around the bay. It was fairly clean and was occupied by a small team of medics. A number beds had been set up on one side of the room. Along one wall were a few doors which led off to other treatment rooms.

As Shinji scanned the beds he felt a glow of relief as he spotted the single occupant there. He had been wondering what had happened to Rei since they had arrived on the ship. She was at this time looking around in confusion at the sudden burst of activity and had not yet noticed Shinji.

“Ayanami!” He called out.

Rei looked across at his call and for just a brief moment he thought he could see the faintest trace of a smile form on her lips. Whatever was there soon faded as the ship was rocked by fire from the enemy. He stumbled and attempted to keep his balance. After a brief moment the medical bay door opened and a man wearing what Shinji recognized as one of the engineering uniformed stumbled into the bay clutching at his arm. Shinji could scorch marks on his uniform around the point in which he was clutching his arm.

The man was guided towards one of the small treatment stations and hissed in pain as Sakura gently lifted his hand away from the wound. She motioned for Shinji to come towards her.

“Second degree burns to his upper arm, nothing too serious. You’re able to treat this right? Cold water and then bandage him up?”

Shinji nodded nervously and tried to ignore the curious stare that the man was giving him. Shinji instead recalled what he knew about how to treat burns. It was something he had to look up some time ago during his time learning how to cook, he had burned himself a couple of times so basic treatment was something he could do.

Sakura smiled, “Good, use this.”

She pointed out a small showerhead attached to the treatment table near to them and Shinji picked it up and tested the cold water that was shooting out of it. He noticed that the man’s eyes seemed to have come to a rest on the collar he was wearing. Shinji did his best to ignore it, “W-What happened?”

“Blast from the…” He was cut off as the cold water made contact with the burn. Shinji watched as the man’s face went into a grimace from the pain.

“S-Sorry…” Shinji apologized but ensured he kept the small showerhead in place.

“It’s fine… blast from the Angel caught our section in engineer. Conduit went up in flames and I was caught up in it.”

The shipped was rocked ever so slightly once again and Shinji made sure he kept all his focus on keeping his balance. He could feel his patients eyes were still focused on the DSS choker. Finally the man said the words Shinji had been dreading.

“You’re him aren’t you…”

Shinji didn’t say anything, he kept the water in place hoping it’d be over soon.

“…The Eva pilot I mean, the one we recovered a few weeks ago… Shinji Ikari?”

Shinji’s stomach churned on hearing his own name be mentioned. He nodded in silence but kept his eyes focused intently on the wound. Shinji shuffled awkwardly on his feet completely aware of the attention that was on him.

“Sorry kid, didn’t mean anything by it, just surprised to see you here. I knew a guy, few years ago he’s retired to one of the cities now but he used to be a part of Section 02 back when they protected you lot. When everything went to hell and people blamed the pilots he always used to speak about them and mentioned you…”

Shinji didn’t respond but kept listening to the man as he spoke. He wondered what he meant by blaming the pilots, as far as Shinji knew only he had been blamed for what had happened.

“He always said he never understood how any of you could have been to blame for what had happened. Always said how you were all good kids, never deserved what happened. Wanna know what I think?”

Shinji finally made eye contact with the man. To his surprise it was not anger or hatred he saw in the man’s eyes, instead he could see sympathy.

“I think a kid like you should never have been made to pilot those things in the first place and I think what happened to this world, that’s one someone else’s head… not yours.”

“T-Thank you…” Shinji said quietly feeling his cheeks start to go red from the man’s words. As he looked around he could see that a few more people had entered the medical bay. Some of them with more serious burns, others with cuts and scrapes but nothing appeared to be too serious. Shinji tracked Sakura as her and her staff guided each patient to a treatment area of the Bay and started to treat them accordingly.

He felt something start to pull at the showerhead, “Go and help them out, I’ve got it from here. It’s only a burn.”

Shijinji nodded and started to make his way towards Sakura to find out what else he could do to help. Suddenly the ship was rocked yet again and much more violently than the previous ones. There was an almighty crash from behind them as the bed containing Rei was flipped onto its side sending her crashing shoulder first onto the ground.

“Ayanami!” Shinji called out and quickly darted over to where she had landed. She cried out in pain and clutched her shoulder as he gently lifted her into a sitting position. The ship was thrown once again and he did his best to make sure she wasn’t hurt as he held her in his arms. He started to wonder why she was here and how long she had actually been there for. Getting answers to those questions could wait, he was needed.

Rei seemed to be of that mindset as well as she looked up into his eyes, “I am… fine. Thank you Ikari, you should go and help the others.”

Rei gingerly made the attempt to get to her feet but was thrown backwards when a terrible pain shot through her head. She screamed out as it stabbed at her brain with great intensity, she could feel a number of terrifying images get pushed into her mind. Showing somewhere else than the medical bay.

Rei tried to focus through the pain, trying to regain her balance and make sense of it all. She could see herself encased in total darkness, in front of her was a strange pulsing form opening and closing in a steady rhythm. Each time it opened she’d get a glimpse of the blue sky outside.

There was a sudden flash of light and suddenly she was no longer in the darkness but was now free and floating upwards into the sky. Around her were a large number of creatures which she knew were the same as the body she now occupied. In the distance she could see the AAA Wunder making its desperate attempt to flee.

In an instant the image was gone and she was back inside the medical bay. She felt Shinji’s warm hands come around to embrace her once again, “Ayanami, are you alright?”

Rei shook her head, “No… they’re… something is coming…”

XXX

_'And I never see the sudden curve till it's way too late!'_

Asuka growled in anger as she brought her knife down for another swipe crashing it through the insectoids hull and sending it whirling to destruction. She brought Unit 02 down into a crouch, roll to one side and jumped it up into the air smashing through another two of the strange creatures that had emerged from within the Angel.

Behind her Mari was intently focused on the tactical display. All playfulness that had been displayed earlier was now gone. Instead her fingers drew across the display panning the map towards the Wunder and watching the swarm of creatures as they made their way towards the vessel. She would then pan back to watch the remaining creatures as they moved around Unit 02.

She watched as two more blips representing the creatures vanished only to be immediately replaced on the display by another two. Frustratingly the core of the Angel was now displayed firmly on the map with a glowing red marker taunting the two of them. For each step Asuka made towards the core, more creatures would swarm and push them back.

Unfortunately for them Unit 02 would likely be receiving no further help from the Wunder. It had moved out of range now to attack the Angel and was at such a height that deploying the TARKUS Units wasn't possible. They were on their own and they were getting desperate.

If there was any consolation to be taken from this at all it was that the improved Unit 02 was just as durable as they had expected. Its A.T. Field was holding at a high rate, both Mari and Asuka's synchronization rates were stable and the S2 Engine was showing no problems. There was just the matter of dealing with the swarm around them and getting to the core.

Mari felt a loud thud as Unit 02 came down from yet another jump. She rocked around in her seat, nearly feeling her glasses come off of her face in the process. Around them rained down the corpses of the defeated enemies.

"Makinami..." Asuka panted in her seat, "How many?"

"About fifty and they're still coming out."

Asuka looked up at the swarm around them. She knew she couldn't keep up fighting like this. Unit 02 might have an S2 Engine and be the most advanced Unit yet but it was still piloted by a human. She had limits and all of the concentration she had put into piloting and fighting was starting to wear her down. She needed a solution and quick.

"Makinami... 777, is it possible?"

Mari shook her head, "Not anymore princess, they stripped it out of this one unfortunately."

"Scheisse..." Asuka muttered, "Okay... I'm going to try something."

She knelt Unit 02 down for a moment and looked up and focused on the space in front of her. She was uncertain of whether or not this would work. Mari watched her tactical readouts as she saw all the focus of Unit 02 shift to its A.T. Field.

_'I see... she's going to... well may as well help her out.'_

Mari focused her own efforts into shifting the power towards the A.T. Field. She watched as the numbers started to rise on her display. Suddenly Asuka roared out and there was a bright orange glow thrust forward from Unit 02. The tornado of creatures in front of them was caught in the blast and almost immediately Asuka brought Unit 02 up and started to rush towards the neck of the Angel.

"Using the A.T. Field as a weapon, very clever princess!"

"I wouldn't be the best pilot going if I wasn't clever. Now watch this!"

Unit 02 leapt up into the air and pulled out a pistol from a holster on its side. She immediately brought the target over the Angels neck, directly over where the core would be and emptied an entire clip into the hull of the Angel.

Each explosive bullet connected with the hull opening up a large crater through with the core could be seen. The Angel howled with pain and reared itself up as Unit 02 came to land awkwardly on the beasts head. Asuka regained balance and darted forwards, putting the gun back into its holster. She withdrew the progressive knife again.

_'And the last thing I see is my heart_   
_Still beating, still beating_   
_Breaking out of my body and flying away_   
  
_Like a Bat Out of Hell!'_

She dived forwards holding the knife out towards the core, both her and Mari screamed out as the knife punged into the soft core of the Angel. There was a flash of light all around them and a deafening scream as the deathblow was dealt. Unit 02 seemed to hang in the air for a moment before everything around them morphed into the orange LCL liquid that comprised the Angels body. Unit 02 dropped for the ground as the Angels blood rained down upon them.

All at once the bodies of the creatures that had erupted from within the Angel came down. Somehow, they had won.

XXX

Shinji was still cradling Rei in his arms and watching as things seemed to be going from bad to worse for the Wunder. More people had entered the medical bay and Sakura had now had to dispatch a few teams to other parts of the ship to deal with those who would be unable to make it there. They were over capacity and the constantly attacks to the Wunder were making treating those that were in here extremely difficult.

Shinji scanned the room and watched in horror as one of the female officers that had been brought in earlier let out a scream. He looked on as a hole was torn through the wall and a large insect like creature burst into the room. This was followed by a number of other creatures. Could this have been what Rei was referring to when she said something was coming?

Shinji had no time to think about it as the others in the room took up positions near to him. Those that were capable or had them pulled out firearms and aimed them towards the creatures. He looked up towards to see the engineering officer from before had took up a position near to them. He turned to give Shinji a reassuring smile.

"Everything will be fine kid."

Shinji nodded and hoped that the man was correct. A fraction of a second later hell broke loose as the first shot was fired by one of the female officers in front. Shinji felt himself go numb as the world seemed to slow down for him. He watched as bullets tore through the creatures’ body splattering it to the ground.

A moment later others opened fire towards the insects as the creatures tried to move forward. For each one that was killed another two seemed to enter the room. He watched in horror as they seemed to be pressing forward and overwhelming those inside. Suddenly he heard Rei call out.

"Ikari, watch out!"

Shinji looked around just in time to see one of the creatures had broke free of its formation. It was upon them and just about to leap. Shinji closed his eyes and threw his body over Rei and anticipated the contact from the creature. Moments passed with no contact as the room seemed to fall into a strange silence. He slowly turned and opened his eyes again to see an array of awkward stares passing from person to person. Looking straight ahead he could see that each and every creature in the room had fallen to the ground and was now motionless.

Eventually the others in the room turned their attention towards Shinji and he felt a cold chill wash over him as he felt their collective eyes fix themselves upon the collar he was wearing. The man he had treated before had been friendly but Shinji wasn’t so sure about the others, he felt a sickly sensation within his stomach as he realized the situation he was in. He remembered the looks and stares he had gotten off of the bridge crew when arriving, what he was seeing now was the same.

He awkwardly looked around and saw the mixture of expressions. Mistrust, hatred and sympathy. Each person was different, and he wasn’t sure if one was going to run forward to finish the job the creature had started or if another was going to run forward to hug him.

"W-What happened?" Shinji’s trembling voice echoed as he asked the question. Ahead of him was the creature that had leapt towards him and Rei. The officer he had been treating cautiously moved towards it and frowned.

"They just... stopped..."

“So Is... Is it over?”

As if she had heard his question Misato’s voice was heard over the ships internal communications channel.

_‘This is Captain Katsuragi to all members of the AAA Wunder. Stand down from red alert, the Angel… and its friends have been defeated.’_


	5. Celebration Day

The old man cast his eyes across the carnage that was being shown to him on the view screen. Upon it he could see the rivers of blood that had gushed out of the Angel as it had fallen to its death. Corpses of the strange creatures that spawned from it littered the landscape and off in the distance was the large hulking form of the red Evangelion Unit 02.

He frowned and shook his head, “They were able to destroy the Angel, was that something else we should have expected Ikari? More Angels to deal with?”

Fuyutsuki didn’t need to turn around to know that Gendo Ikari would be smirking at this moment in time. He didn’t need to turn around to see that shadowed figure sat with his gloved hands folded neatly in front of him. He didn’t need to turn around to see that cold black and red visor around Gendo’s eyes hiding what was now there from the world.

As he thought of that smirk he remembered that there was probably some traces of humanity left within the NERV Commander but those traces that were left were to be detested.

When Gendo finally replied to him his words were, as they always were, carefully considered and emotionless, “The existence of further Angels was not mentioned within the sacred scrolls Professor. In shutting down SEELE we entered a brand new phase in our scenario, one in which we must account for certain unexpected outcomes.”

“So what you’re saying is we did not expect more of them to appear.”

“Indeed we did not, yet this changes nothing. If there are more Angels to come then I trust Katsuragi and her team will destroy them. Nothing changes for us, we push on.”

Fuyutsuki had little to say in response to Gendo. In truth he had had very little to say in response to Gendo for over twenty years, ever since he had set out on this crusade. Fuyutsuki was a coward and the worst thing about it was that he knew it and he could do nothing about it.

A better man would have ended this a long time ago and Fuyutsuki had certainly had opportunities. Yet he could never bring himself to do it. He felt a strange duty to Gendo Ikari for some reason. He felt that if Yui had loved Gendo and saw the good in him then Fuyutsuki was bound to aid Gendo. If he were to hurt Gendo then that would in some way hurt Yui and Fuyutsuki could not do that.

So he stayed alongside the man, watching as the humanity was slowly stripped away from him but holding on to the hope that maybe he could change the path they were on.

Fuyutsuki had long since given up on that dream though. It was no longer for him to change this course but for others. There was only one person who could do that now.

_‘He has the ability but... so much has happened… what if he ends up the same as his father… what if we’ve broken him… what if I broke him by telling him about his mother…’_

“You seem troubled by what has happened Professor.”

Fuyutsuki gave a short and sharp nod, “I am. It would seem that a lot has been sacrificed in order to get us this far, into this stage of our… your scenario. We are no longer hindered by SEELE but now it seems we are no closer to our actual goal than we were before and in addition these new Angels… surely even you can see the threat they pose.”

This time Fuyutsuki did turn around and got a glimpse of that cold, heartless smirk, “You are wrong Professor. We are progressing towards our goal, the Angels are of no consequence, the power of the Evangelion Units will see to that.”

“Isn’t it arrogant to presume that?”

“The Evangelions were designed to become God, yet the Angels are the spawn of Gods. They pose no threat. In addition to this we are still able to exercise some influence in this world. Whilst the world sees NERV as a threat there are some individuals within WILLE who do not see it in that way.”

Fuyutsuki took a step forward in shock, “You mean we actually have people inside WILLE? You did not mention this!”

“I saw no need to mention it, it has not been relevant to any of our discussions until now. As far as your question goes, yes we do. Aboard Katsuragi’s ship and within the upper hierarchy of the organization itself.”

“And have they said anything? About Rei or Shinji?”

“It is exactly as expected, Katsuragi is treating the two of them as prisoners for the moment but I expect that he stance will eventually soften. Quite curiously it would appear that Shinji has entered a relationship of sorts with Shikinami, I have asked that this be monitored.”

Fuyutsuki had to suppress a smile on hearing Gendo speak those words. It gave him some hope that Shinji had perhaps managed to find love of some sort. Maybe he wasn’t broken yet, maybe there was still hope.

“You anticipate this will be problematic.”

“Love causes problems Fuyutsuki, you of all people should be aware of this.”

XXX

It had been at least half an hour since the fight with the Angel. From what Shinji understood the Wunder had landed again and both Asuka and Mari were either back on board or making their way back to the ship. In that time he had continued to help where he could, treating people’s burns and keeping out of the way of the other medical staff as they tended to other injuries.

The general feeling was that the ship and its crew had been very fortunate. If the Angel hadn't been defeated when it had been the insect-like creatures that had spawned from it would have overwhelmed them and instead of having no fatalities and a scattering of burns, broken bones and cuts to be stitched up they'd have been looking at a decimated crew.

No one had said anything to Shinji beyond a simple thank you when he treated them. He got a few curious stares from him, mostly focusing on the collar but aside from the engineer he had first treated no one made reference to it or who he was.

He finished treating another person before moving towards Rei who had been observing everything.

"You are not going to visit Shikinami? She should have returned."

Shinji shook his head and gave an embarrassed smile as he thought about how he had nearly burst out of Asuka's quarters earlier when the battle had started. Rei of course didn't know about that, "No, I'm... not really supposed to wander the ship. I'm only here because Sakura needed assistance, otherwise I'm confined to Asuka's quarters."

"I see."

"It's not that I don't want to. I just can't."

"I understand, we are limited in what we can do here."

Shinji turned his head and noticed for the first time that Rei was wearing a DSS Choker as well. He wasn't surprised to see it there but it still saddened him that the two of them had to wear them. To think that the person who was once the closest thing to a mother he had ever had ordered something that could trigger his execution was not a pleasant thought.

"H-How have you been Rei? I haven't... well... what happened after we returned?"

"I passed out shortly after our return. I awoke yesterday in a device that Dr Akagi had developed to aid me. Now I am waiting for what will happen to me next. I believe they will want to interrogate me on what I know about the Commander and NERV."

"Aren't you scared? Of what will happen to you I mean... of seeing Misato and being...."

"No."

"No?"

"I see no reason to fear what will happen to me. I am safer here then I would be back at NERV and I have faith that Katsuragi or Dr Akagi will not hurt me. If they wished to do so then I would have been by now."

"But... what about the others? Aren't you..."

Shinji motioned his head towards the officers around the room.

"You are referring to the other crew members of this ship are you not?"

Shinji nodded, "Yeah..."

"I admit I am... somewhat nervous about what might happen to me." Rei admitted, "I am aware of what I am to these people and that they may harbor resentment towards me. My mind has conjured scenarios in which one may decide to cause me harm."

She paused as the two of them looked around the room. They were no longer receiving any strange looks from the officers or staff. Instead all they saw was a crew talking amongst themselves, people making jokes with one another and talking about what had just happened. It was almost as if neither Rei nor Shinji were there.

"Yet I believe these are good people, and we are at no risk. They would not hurt us."

Shinji gave a short sigh, "I know that, it's just scary to be here and to know so little about this world. All I know are little bits and pieces and I don't even know which of that is true."

"You are not alone in this."

"R-Really?"

"Whilst I have occupied this world in this form for a longer time than you my knowledge of the occurrences here is also limited. I was purposefully kept in the dark knowing only little bits and pieces of what I was told."

"We're in the same boat then?"

"Yes... we are."

XXX

Misato entered her ready room closely followed by Ritsuko, Asuka and Mari. Asuka and Mari were still in their LCL drenched plugsuits, it had been barely an hour since the battle with the fourteenth Angel. The Wunder had suffered significant damage to its hull and engines and would take another two hours before it might even be considered flight worthy again.

Unit 02 on the other hand had suffered no damage. All things considered it was a remarkably successful first outing for the revamped Unit.

In the meantime they had a crew taking care of repairs to the Wunder and a research team out gathering whatever samples they might be able to of the Angel.

Each individual took a seat, Ritsuko immediately brought up a small screen and began to scroll through a list of data relating to the battle.

"I should start by commending you both on a job well done." Spoke Misato before sitting down.

Asuka smirked, "Did you expect anything less from your best pilot?"

Mari simply waved her hand, "Ah it was nothing, all in a day’s work for us right princess?"

Asuka said nothing in reply, instead looking over towards Ritsuko who was now displaying an overhead view of the Angel on the screen.

"So what was that anyway? I thought there were only supposed to be thirteen max of those bastards? Isn't that what the so-called contract with Lilith stated?"

Ritsuko nodded, "Indeed, and until Nagisa we were uncertain of the status of the thirteenth."

"So how many Angels are there?"

"We do not know, everything we knew about the Angels and Lilith was what we were able to retrieve from NERV and SEELEs archives fourteen years ago. The thirteenth was supposed to have been the last one, after that..."

"They would attempt to act out their scenario." Finished Misato.

Mari piped up, "So SEELE or NERV lied or just left it out of their records, no big deal right princess? If the Angels appear then we fight them and destroy them."

Ritsuko said nothing for a moment, "There of course exists a third option, that SEELE or NERV simply did not know that there would be more. That the contract with Lilith was somehow misinterpreted or was itself deceitful."

Misato nodded, "In other words the contract only referenced thirteen Angels but there was always the possibility for more."

"Exactly."

Misato sighed and sat back, "NERV, SEELE, Nemesis Series and now more Angels... our job doesn't get any easier does it?"

"Unfortunately not. I have teams out collecting and analyzing samples from the Angel and its spawn. I do however fear that we are unlikely to learn too much from it that we don't already know.  I can however have the Magi run some simulations and maybe contact a few of the outposts nearby. See if we can maybe put forward some educated guesses regarding the Angel."

Misato nodded again, "Good idea, I'll contact WILLE Headquarters, have them put their bases on standby and look out for any pattern blues out there. It'd be good to know what, if anything this particular Angel wanted. It doesn't feel like a coincidence that it suddenly turned up here. Previously we know that they were driven by the call to return to Lilith. As we are all very much aware, thanks to the actions of certain people Lilith no longer exists."

Asuka couldn't help but notice the slight stares aimed in her direction as Misato referenced what had happened previously with Shinji. She tried to ignore them, she knew that as time went out she could probably expect similar looks from people whenever someone referenced something that Shinji had done or been a part of. Unlike others she couldn't exactly yell at Misato or Akagi.

Fortunately Ritsuko broke the silence, "It would be worth taking another look at the data we obtained when we left NERV as well. I know it has been analyzed in the past but we were not looking for anything like this so certain aspects may have been glossed over or discarded. It would be worth having someone go through it again to try to find something that may be relevant to our situation."

"Are you not going to look through it yourself?" Asked Misato curiously.

Ritsuko shook her head, "I am not, and unfortunately my hands are going to be full with the combat analysis on Unit 02 and the analysis of the creatures we found. I do however have an ideal candidate in mind for this task."

"Good. Shikinami, Makinami... I appreciate you'll both probably be wanting to shower and change out of your plugsuits but there is still something to discuss. In a couple of days we will reach Neo-London, after we have taken on new supplies we will begin our search for the tower. We are still working on translating the map but we have received intelligence that there might be something in the former French city of Arles that may help us in task. You and Mari will be aiding us in retrieving the object."

Asuka frowned, "Isn't that something more suited for one of Akagi's research teams?"

Ritsuko gave a short nod before changing the image on the screen so show what Asuka presumed was the location Misato had mentioned. Immediately Asuka saw the reason why she and Mari might be required.

"Ah..."

"Well Princess... this should be fun."

Ritsuko began to detail what was on screen, "Recon drones in the area picked them up earlier this morning. They appear to resemble the seventh Angel and there appears to be at least twelve."

Mari smirked, "Angels?"

"In this case no, it is safe to presume that NERV or SEELE have gotten wind of our plans and wish to stop us from getting there first. I believe these are sentries designed to resemble the seventh Angel, we are likely to find a team already there looking for or guarding the artefact we are after."

"So they're looking for the tower as well?" Asuka asked.

"Most likely, regardless this is a problem for us and you two have the ability to remove it."

Asuka smiled, "One against twelve, I like those odds."

Misato did not give a change in her expression, "Good, in which case you're both dismissed."

Misato watched as Asuka and Mari made their way out of the room. As soon as the door closed Ritsuko spoke.

"Not quite the first outing we expected for Evangelion Unit 02 but all things considered it performed well."

“I’d say above expectations, what about Asuka?”

“In relation to what we discussed yesterday there was nothing of immediate concern. Early reports show no signs of the Angelic contamination within her during the battle. Either the Angel wasn’t as much of a threat so she didn’t have to push herself to those limits or we were correct that the presence of Mari and usage of the dual entry system allowed it to be suppressed.”

Misato nodded at the good news, “We’ll keep an eye on her. Have a synchronization test ran on her later this week. We want to be sure that any signs of the contamination were suppressed and remain so by the seals.”

“I already had one scheduled. Her proximity to the aborted Fourth Impact and of course Shinji means that we should probably keep a close eye on her.”

Misato let out a short sigh, deceiving Asuka was not really something she wanted to do. It had been her long term belief that the contamination within Asuka had been completely suppressed many years ago and would never become a problem. That had changed recently. Twice they had detected signs of something within Asuka, and it was concerning.

“I dislike deceiving Asuka like this, maybe it would have been better for us to have told her years ago that there was still some risks to her. That the Angel might not have been completely dormant.”

Ritsuko frowned, “Perhaps, yet we made our decision. We told her the basics of the situation. That she had been contaminated but it was completely sealed off. We thought that it had been, until recently yet I think telling her our concerns would set her back, especially when we aren’t too sure ourselves. Best case scenario is that it just serves to amplify her abilities in an Eva, worst case… she’s another trigger.”

Resigned to her decision Misato nodded and stated firmly, “We will do what we have to do.”

Ritsuko brought up the image of the Angel. A group of statistics alongside it detailing its size and estimated weight alongside it. Misato leaned back in her seat, carefully observing the images herself. Finally she spoke, "Was this thing really an Angel? Or was it something else? A relic of SEELE's or something NERV developed to hinder us."

"All the data we have collected indicated that it is indeed a true Angel. There was nothing there to give the impression that it was artificially created by an external source. I can assure you though, that my team will do all it can to learn more about it. Speaking of SEELE though, when are we going to inform the pilots of SEELEs demise?"

Misato leaned forward folding her hands neatly under her chin, "Not yet. All our sources indicate that the senators that suddenly died the other week were indeed those that made up the SEELE committee but I feel it would be unwise to disclose news of SEELEs demise just yet."

"Is this an attempt to hide the truth or something else?"

"Something else, up until now we were lead to believe that SEELE had given up their human form long ago, that they were a committee that have existed throughout humanities history. They were omnipresent and all powerful, for them to suddenly die like that, it doesn't sit right with me. Until we have absolute confirmation, SEELE is an active entity as far as I'm concerned and it shall remain that way for the pilots too."

Ritsuko nodded, "An understandable precaution. So what of this artefact, another of Kaji's findings?"

"Not this time, truth is since we received the map we haven't heard from him. This comes from another source, trustworthy by all accounts but we know little about them. Goes by the code name 'Deepthroat.'"

Ritsuko couldn't help but roll her eyes, "How original."

Misato gave a slight smirk in response at Ritsuko’s reaction to hearing their new informant’s codename.

"I’m sure they think they’re very important but their information is accurate. If we can get hold of the artefact it might bring us closer to our goal, to locating the tower."

"The Tower of Babel, the legendary tower that reached up to the heavens, from a time when all humanity could understand one another. Its destruction symbolizing to some that mankind should not try to enter the realm of god."

Ritsuko paused for a moment, "The Final Impact, if there is anywhere more fitting for such an event it is a legendary tower such as this. He will be searching for it as well."

Misato knowing exactly who Ritsuko was referring too couldn’t help but grip the side of her desk a little bit tighter. It had been many years since they had any contact with that man. He had vanished shortly before the raid by the UN on NERV. He along with the strange organization known as SEELE had become one of the most wanted men in the world, “Of course he will, just like he tried to get to Shinji and use him. We can’t have a repeat of what happened recently though, we won’t allow NERV to get ahead of us in this. They’ve caused us enough problems recently.

“Speaking of problems, I’ve received information that one of our problems, Shinji, was in the medical bay during the attack by the Angel.”

Misato’s expression did not change upon hearing Ritsuko’s statement, it was something she had been expecting, “I know. I received the report myself before we had the pilots in here. According to them he was attending to basic injuries and was nearly attacked by one of the creatures that had spawned from the Angel.”

“Are we planning on doing anything about this? I thought the intention was to keep him confined to one place, until we reached Neo-London.”

Misato shook her head, “At the moment we do nothing. I believe Asuka when she said he is no threat to us but I will make sure both she and Sakura are reminded to keep him away from the crew. We have him confined for a reason. I would like to keep any potential incidents to a minimum.

“A wise precaution, and are you planning on seeing him anytime soon? It has been over a week since he returned.”

Misato frowned again as she recalled just what Asuka had said to her yesterday. If she went to see Shinji would she be able to get anything out of him. She remembered what he had looked like when she stepped into the room, she knew something was up at that point. He had frozen up, gone pale and according to Asuka taken ill after Misato had left. Interrogating him would be pointless and besides he would likely not reveal anything of worth to her.

Misato wondered for a moment if Ritsuko already knew about what had happened. She was, after all, the second-in command on the ship, it would make sense for her to know. Yet she didn’t reference the event. Misato stood up slowly to look out of the window, “I will not as of yet. I don’t believe there is anything to gain from me questioning him at this time. All the details of the incident in Tokyo-3 have been reported to us by Asuka and Mari. We have Rei Ayanami ready to tell us whatever she knows. The SEELE Pilot, Kaworu Nagisa is dead and both the senior Ikari and Fuyutsuki have escaped. Shinji will not be able to tell us anything we don’t already know, there is nothing to gain from him.

Ritsuko seemed to pause to think for a moment, “I see, and what of when we get to Neo-London, what are we going to do with him then?”

Misato hadn’t thought that far ahead. The truth was after he had escaped with NERV she wasn’t expecting to see him again. Now that he was back she had to make a decision, “I’m not sure yet. There is a risk to keeping him on board. Clearly his father thinks he has some use otherwise he wouldn’t have tried to get him to pilot Unit 13. If we keep Shinji here then we become a target for NERV and we could ideally do without any additional trouble.”

Misato paused thinking about the other course of action, “Yet if we leave him in one of the cities it could paint them as a target. They’re suited to repelling attacks but I imagine NERV would use more underhanded tactics to get to him in that case.”

“You would rather we left him in one of the cities then?”

Misato gave a nod, “Perhaps. Give him a false identity and invent a new life for him. Give him a shot at a regular life away from all of this. He can meet new people, make new friends and not be Shinji Ikari anymore. We can continue onwards and complete our mission.”

“Except we both know that isn’t possible.” Ritsuko confirmed, “If we tried to give him a new identity it’d be only a matter of months before it was discovered. That’d be the end of his regular life. In addition to this would he accept that decision and would she accept it?”

“I assume you’re referring to Asuka?”

“Of course I am.”

“I’ve thought about it. Asuka isn’t as strong as she lets on and I’ve not seen her attach herself to someone like she does with Shinji. We both know his recovered was one of the reasons she decided to pilot again. I will make a decision when we return to Neo-London.”

“Seems that Shinji has made things a little bit more complicated around here.”

“He always does.”

XXX

Unlike last night there was no pleasant smell of home-cooking awaiting Asuka when she returned, in fact there was absolutely nothing at all. A fact which caused her some concern, Shinji was supposed to have been here. He had been confined to her quarters and was not meant to be anywhere else on the ship. She threw her plugsuit onto the couch and dashed into her bedroom to see if maybe he was in there. She moved from the bedroom to the bathroom and again he was nowhere to be seen.

_‘That idiot! Where the hell is he? What the hell has happened to him?’_

Fortunately she didn’t have to wait any longer for her answer as the door to her quarters slid open and in walked a very tired looking Shinji Ikari. She peered down at his hands to see him wearing a pair of latex gloves and eyed him curiously.

“Shinji!”

Shinji jumped at the sound of his voice and faced her, “Oh… h-hey Asuka.”

“You were supposed to be confined to my quarters, where were you?”

“I-I can explain… Sakura was here and we were watching your training exercise and then… then the Angel appeared…”

Asuka stepped forward and looked him dead in the eye, “Oh god the Angel, you didn’t try to do something stupid like think you could… think we might have needed your help did you?”

“N-No! I knew you could do it!” Shinji shook his head deciding that it might be best to leave out the part where he did indeed think that they might have needed his help and him trying to run off.

“Then where were you… and what’s with the gloves?”

Shinji glanced down at his hands and realized that he had forgot to take off the gloves he had been wearing when Sakura got him to help with the final patient to come into the medical bay. He quickly pulled them off and deposited them in bin.

“Sakura… asked me to help in the medical bay during the attack. I’ve been helping her treat people hurt in the attack.”

Asuka looked ever so slightly taken aback by the news, “Y-You’ve been helping out in medical?”

He nodded, “Yeah… only small things, treating burns but she asked me to help out. Said it’d… help in some way.”

Asuka kissed him softly on the cheek before throwing herself down on the couch, “Well that’s a surprise. Shinji Ikari, ships doctor. Maybe I can book myself in for a private examination later on.”

Shinji felt himself blush as she grinned, “It’s a shame though. You didn’t get to see my amazing victory over the Angel.”

“How was it… fighting the Angel I mean… it looked big.”

Asuka nodded in confirmation, “Biggest one on record. Over a hundred and fifty in length, maybe a little bit more. Ended up having to jump on top of it and cutting a hole inside. Damn things it kept spawning didn’t exactly help though.”

“Y-Yeah we… had a few get in the medical bay.”

She shot him a concerned glance, “I heard they boarded but didn’t know they got that far? Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, it was scary though. If they hadn’t… if you hadn’t have killed it when you did they would have got us. Hey what about Mari… she was in Unit 02 with you right?”

Asuka sighed, “Yeah she was there too. She did an amazing job of looking at circles on a screen and telling me where they were, not that I really needed to be told with the size of that thing but yes, she was fine as well.”

“I’m glad…”

Shinji looked out the window of the quarters over the site of the battle. What was once just barren wasteland was now a small lake of LCL. He could see a number of vehicles making their way back to the Wunder from the lake. He assumed that they were research teams that had been sent to collect what they could.

“Where did it come from?”

Asuka shrugged, “Don’t know yet, there were only supposed to be thirteen of them and the thirteenth was killed two we…”

She trailed off as she watched Shinji’s reaction at her mention of the thirteenth Angel. That was a subject that hadn’t been broached a lot since they had reunited. She decided to quickly skip the conversation ahead, “Anyway there were only supposed to be thirteen so why there is another we don’t know. They’re going to look over the data we have when we get to Neo-London but that’ll be a few days.”

“Neo-London? So… we’re going to England?” he asked curiously.

“Not exactly, England is kinda buried under the sea right now.”

“Because of me right?”

Detecting that this might have the ability to upset Shinji she quickly moved to allay his fears, “It isn’t like that, it’s more complicated than… Look you don’t have to think…”

Shinji didn’t give her a chance to finish and stood up angrily, “No it’s fine! I get it, Shinji fucked up the world and I’m going to be reminded if it wherever we go! We may as well turn it into a game, what country no longer exists before of the idiot Shinji? New Zealand? India? America? Those… small islands near Europe that I can’t remember the name of? I bet they’re gone too!”

As he said the final country he threw himself down onto the couch next to Asuka and folded his arms sulking. She froze for a moment at his outburst before smiling and letting out a snort of laughter, “Feel better?”

He shook his head, “Not really.”

Asuka wrapped her arms around him and pulled him in to snuggle his head into her chest, “Look… idiot, I know it’s hard to hear about the changes to the world and stuff and that you blame yourself but it isn’t like you actually did it.”

She paused, “After what happened on that day… well I wasn’t around for it being in a coma and stuff but there were a few natural disasters around the world and then wars broke out. Ones that had been threatening to break out for some time anyway. All the Near-Third Impact did was give them an excuse, it kickstarted a process. If it makes you feel any better just think of it this way, you simple accelerated things for them.”

Shinji brought himself up to look at her for a moment. He didn’t quite want to say to her that she had only managed to make him feel worse, “That doesn’t make me feel any better at all…”

“I didn’t want to accelerate any process, I just wanted to save someone. I thought I was doing the right thing and then I come back here and mess things up even more!”

“Shinji.”

Shinji continued to speak seemingly ignoring Asuka’s voice, “And now I’m in this world where I know nothing except for the fact that at least half of its population hate me!”

“That’s not quite tr-“

“Everything about this world and its people changes over those years yet for me it feels like it was only three or four weeks ago we were at school. A place that doesn’t even exist anymore, my home doesn’t even exist anymore and it’s my fault!”

“Shin-“

She rolled her eyes as he once again cut her off, “And it isn’t like I can even explain myself now! I can’t talk to Misato because, oh look I threw up yesterday and nearly passed out upon seeing her! I probably can’t explain myself to Ritsuko and no one else is going to give me the time of day! Now you have to fight more stupid Angels whilst I sit here and watch and wear this stupid collar that will kill me if I even look a stupid Evangelion! I HATE THIS ASUKA! I HATE IT SO MUCH!”

Asuka bowed her head for a moment as Shinji rose from the couch during his outburst. His face was red from the anger and yelling. Looking somewhat embarrassed he looked around and sheepishly sat himself back down. Asuka could only give him a soft smile, “Are you quite done?”

“I think so…” He nodded.

“Look… idiot. I’ll try to explain more and help you with this but I was out of it for so many months when all of this happened so I’ll probably need others to help me it. I know you hate this right, I know you hate the collar and I know there is no need for it but Misato’s orders are her orders. Just… don’t do anything for now okay, rant about it when you need to but no more than that okay?”

A grin spread across her face, “Oh and do try not to get too angry either, otherwise you might trigger it.”

A horrified look came across Shinji’s face on hearing that, “Y-You mean… it doesn’t… does it?”

Asuka broke out into a laugh, “No of course it doesn’t stupid. Get as angry as you need to, if you want to scream and hit things you can do. I have a training dummy you could use. Maybe we can put some glasses and facial hair on it to make it look like your father.”

Shinji finally laughed himself at the thought of a training dummy being set up to look like his father. He brought himself further up onto the couch and placed his head on her lap, lying there silently for a few moment as she gently ran her hands through his hair.

“You know I’m the one who had to fight an Angel today, surely this should be the other way around.”

Shinji looked up at her and smiled sheepishly, “Sorry.”

“I’ll let it slide for now, next time I’m the one having their hair caressed though. Deal?”

Shinji nodded, “Yeah, deal. So… you said England isn’t… there anymore, so where exactly is Neo-London.”

“Well, as you probably already know the Second Impact already knocked out a chunk of the United Kingdom. When Near Third-Impact happened it looked like the rest of the country would go, fortunately France which had been hit rather hard offered them a deal. Northern France is now the New-United Kingdom. There is a load of other political bullshit involved which isn’t worth going into, they no longer have a Royal Family, it’s divided into four regions, each one representing a country that made up the UK and each one having an elected leader. They still however have retained their arrogance and sense of importance.”

“You don’t like them?”

“I’m German, of course I don’t.” Asuka joked.

“What about your home was that…” Shinji tailed off wondering if this might be the best subject to talk to Asuka about. He also realized that he didn’t actually know much about where Asuka was from. He knew about her mother but nothing of her father or any other family.

“My home was fine, I’m from Berlin so that wasn’t really affected. We had issues in Germany but it remained fairly stable throughout it all.”

“That’s good.”

“Yeah… It is.”

Asuka looked towards the kitchen feeling her stomach start to demand food, “Hey Shinji we should probably eat. I’m not exactly on your level but I do a great… instant mac and cheese… or something… don’t worry I’m better than Misato.”

Shinji laughed, “That sounds good, I can he-“

Shinji was interrupted by a sudden alert from the entrance to Asuka’s quarters. Asuka groaned, “There goes the quiet night I was envisioning. Stay there Shinji.”

Asuka made her way to the door and tapped a button as it slid open to reveal Mari standing there with a grin and clutching a bottle of something in her hand.

“Princess! Is the puppy in there with you?”

Asuka had no chance to reply before Mari had barged her way into her quarters, “And there he is! Hello puppy, how are you today? Did you see our amazing performance against the Angel? Of course I bet it’s nothing compared to the performance you and Asuk-“

“MARI!”

Asuka’s shout instantly stopped the grinning Mari mid-sentence, something which Shinji was very thankful for as he stood up from the couch, “Um… Miss Makinami…”

Mari let out a laugh and set the bottle down on a table before running over to Shinji and wrapping him in a bear hug, “Urk”

“Miss Makinami! Oh the puppy is so adorable. Come on, there’s no need to be so formal, we’re pilots, call me Mari… or you could always ask the princess for some of her nicknames fo-“

“MARI!” Asuka shouted again, “What… are… you… doing… here?”

Mari finally set Shinji down and turned to face Asuka, “Ah. Well you see, I thought that we haven’t really had a chance to get together yet since you all came back to the Wunder and after beating the Angel I thought we could do with a celebration. I even brought blue with me!”

“Blue?” Shinji asked, his eyes widened in surprise as Rei strode into the room looking somewhat embarrassed.

“That would be me, I believe that is the nickname that Mari has chosen for me. Hello again Shinji. Hello Asuka.” Rei bowed politely as she greeted the two of them.

"See, the four pilots together, well two and two former pilots but who cares about details?"

Mari excitedly sat herself down on a chair as Rei and Asuka made their way towards the others. Rei still wore an embarrassed expression at this sudden intrusion into Asuka's quarters. Asuka wearing a scowl at the realization that he quiet night was going to be anything but. Shinji was sat back down on the couch trying to make himself look at small as possible.

"I guess, we weren't really doing anything tonight anyway..."

"Perfect! This'll be great and you know what, I'll even cook, what do you have in your cu-"

"NO!" Asuka shouted out suddenly.

"Aw... Why not?"

"Because Mari, and I want to make sure Shinji hears this too just so he can get an idea, you are probably the only person in this world who can rival Misato for culinary disasters. No, I'll do it. You... just stay seated."

Mari stuck her tongue out, "Still haven't forgiven me for that one time have you?"

"No, I spent half the night in the bathroom and it took three days for my taste buds to recover from the amount of hot sauce you put on it. I will never forgive you."

Mari merely shrugged and smiled at Shinji, "Well we all can't be good at everything, so how are you Shinji. How's life living with Asuka?"

"I-I... well I've only been here a day so... I don't really know b-but Mari... I had a question for you."

"Go ahead. Ask me anything, I'm an open book."

"Who... are you?"

Shinji could hear a loud snort of laughter from Asuka as she rummaged around in her cupboards. Off to his side he could hear Rei also add to his question, "Actually I am curious to know this as well. You turned up on the day we fought the tenth Angel. I do not recall you being assigned to NERV and you were not a part of any personnel listing I was aware of either."

"Ah well... I..." Mari started to speak but for the first time found herself lost for words. She hadn't quite expected a question like that from Shinji or Rei.

Shinji instantly detected the discomfort in Mari his question had caused, "Sorry I didn't mean too make you uncomfortable. It's just aside from seeing you that one day on the roof and when the tenth Angel attacked I don't really... know anything about you."

"It's fine, just wasn't expecting it. What exactly would you like to know? There is quite a lot."

"Well... you're part of NERV or at least were... right?"

Mari shrugged, "Not... exactly. I am or at least was the designated fifth child. I was never really supposed to ever make it to NERV. I'm sure you both know about what happened in the fight against the Third Angel?"

They both nodded and she continued, "I was never supposed to survive that. If I hadn't have used the self-destruct to defeat the Angel the base was rigged to go anyway and would have taken me along with it. Fortunately for yours truly, we already knew about this so I was able to escape, thanks to a little help from a mutual friend of ours."

Shinji's mouth opened in shock, "Y-You were supposed to be killed? By who? What kind of person would order something like that? I thought NERV was supposed to defeat the Angels!"

Asuka's voice came from across the room, her lighter tone had dropped, "Mari... do you want to tell him or should I?"

Mari had completely dropped the smile from before, she turned to Shinji he face very serious, "I'll do it. Shinji it was your father who ordered the destruction of that base. He was trying to get an artefact out. The idea was that those who knew about it would think it was an accident and that their artefact was destroyed. In the meantime he would also eliminate the problematic fifth child and an Angel in the process. Defeating Angels was NERVs goal, so the world would just see it as an unfortunate accident."

Shinji felt a tingle down his spine at the mention of his father. He could only stutter out the words, "M-My father..."

Mari immediately tried to defuse the situation, "Yeah but don't feel too bad about it, after all I lived!"

"That's not the point! All those lives on that base, gone because of him! H-He murdered those people!"

Shinji felt his stomach drop, any hunger he was feeling before had been replaced with a sick feeling. After what had happened with the dummy plug and Asuka he had turned towards hating his father but when he was called to NERV after waking up here he had hoped for a possible reconciliation. Maybe he had misunderstood his father, maybe they could have worked it out but he had realized then that nothing had changed. To hear this though, that his father had ordered the deaths of those people, it was beyond what Shinji could have imagined.

He could feel himself start to tremble but he felt a reassuring hand rest itself on his shoulder. He looked up and to his surprise saw now Asuka standing there but Rei.

"We should listen to the rest of her story. The time to be angry about the commander is not now."

"But Rei, he..."

"I am aware of what he had done, and I hate him as much as you do for it. There is not anything we can do about it at this time though."

"How can you be so calm about this?" Shinji asked.

"I do not know, I am experiencing a great many things right now but I feel that listening to Mari should be our priority right now."

"Commander Spock has a point there Shinji, there isn't anything any of us can do right now." Asuka chimed in.

Shinji turned towards Asuka, "D-Did you know?"

Asuka nodded, "Yeah I knew, I know a lot of other things Shinji and I'll tell you, we'll all tell you but one thing at a time. Oh and... don't blame yourself for his actions, you aren't him Shinji and we were all at one point caught up in his manipulations."

Mari nodded and continued before the conversation could be further derailed, "So after that they removed all evidence of a fifth child from their systems and treated it as though it was an accident. An experience on a captured Angel that had gone wrong. This was perfect for my real employers."

"Who were your real employers?" Asked Rei.

"At that time it was the IPEA."

Shinji looked up, "W-Wait I know that name isn't that who Kaji worked for?"

Mari smiled and nodded in confirmation, "Yup! He was the friend that got me out of that base. We're the only two survivors of what happened on that day. His job was to make sure I survived, so that we could smuggle me into Tokyo-3."

"So... Kaji works with WILLE! Where is he? Is he alright?"

Shinji watched as Asuka and Mari shot each other a quick glance, "As far as we know he is. We don't really hear or see him too much now. He works... undercover mostly."

"I see... But Mari... I still don't understand, why did they try to kill you?"

Mari laughed, "Because I'm dangerous to SEELE."

"SEELE? I keep... hearing them but I don't know who they are."

Shinji was shocked to hear a reply not from Asuka or Mari but from Rei, "SEELE are the organization that backed NERV. I do not know what they were trying to accomplish only that your father opposed them in some way under the pretense of helping them."

"Huh? So my father was... against them? But I thought he ordered those people and Mari to be killed."

"Yeaaaah about that, your father might have been against SEELE but he isn't exactly a good guy. He has his own plans, we're not quite sure of them just yet but they... well... that's complicated."

Shinji sighed and sat back, "What isn't?"

Shinji looked around the room at each of the girls and wondered whether or not he should ask anything else. What he had learned so far had been a lot to take in and needed processing, he felt that to ask for anything more would just overwhelm him, besides this was supposed to be a happy occasion.

"Thank you... for filling in some of the gaps Mari. I think I've heard enough for today."

"Are you sure because there's still more? UN Invasion of NERV, the grand awakening of Asuka, the two attempts to recover you, WILLEs battle against the 11th Angel?"

Shinji smiled and shook his head, "No, its fine... I don't want to hear anymore. I've got plenty of time to learn the rest. We should celebrate your victory right?"


	6. The Web

Rei could feel the fear settling in throughout her body as she moved through the darkened cold steel corridor of this unknown place once again. Her heart was pounding in her chest and her throat was dry as she looked ahead to spot the exact same fork in the path that she had come across the last time she was here.

She stopped and glanced down at herself. Unlike the last time she had been here she was at least clothed this time. She recognized the clothes as the ones that Mari had loaned her earlier that day. A simple pair of pants and a loose light blue t-shirt.

It was cold in this place, Rei could feel the hairs on her arms stand up as she started to approach the fork once again. The memory of what had happened to her the last time she was here was running through her mind. She could remember how that strange circular disc had appeared before her at this point. She could remember how it had led her down the left hand path.

This time there was no such object here to greet her. She was completely alone. She stopped and looked down the left hand path her eyes trying to see the end of it. She could remember exactly what would be waiting for her if she picked that path. The room with the tank in it and the figure that resembled her within it. She could still remember the feeling of sheer terror she felt as the figure made eye contact with her.

Rei could see ahead of her down that path the spotlights illuminating the way. She could see the pipes alone the top with the same orange vapours leaking out from them. She could smell the sickening and powerful stench of LCL in the air. It was much stronger than she had ever known it to be before, even when she was submerged in the stuff in her Eva it didn’t seem this pungent.

She considered it for a moment before taking a single trembling step down the right hand path. At first glance it seemed to be identical. A darkened corridor lit only by spotlights and sequences of pipes overhead and snaking their way into the walls. Yet she knew, she hoped, that at the end of this path the figure from before would not be there to greet her. Barely able to keep her path straight from shaking with fear she continued to move forward

Soon the compulsion to continue walking had returned and along with it a deeper sense of unease. Rei wanted to turn around but found herself unable to do so. Instead of being able to turn around she found herself speeding up her steps, each one echoing through the darkness.

Unease and fear were two emotions, two sensations that Rei was not used to feeling. Along with it came a tremendous sense of loneliness. She had always felt an emptiness in her life but it had never felt as strong and as stifling as it did right now. She had always felt a sense of fear, especially when fighting in the Eva but it had never been like this before.

She kept on walking and suddenly she could feel a burning sensation in her eyes. She raised a finger to wipe away the wetness that had formed there.

_‘I… I am crying’_

As she asked herself the question it was followed up by a sharp pang in her stomach along with her fear rising. Hitting her along with it was the realization that she was truly alone in this place, just as she was starting to get used to and understand the need to have others in her life she was brought to a place where she was well and truly alone.

There was no one here alongside her and no one that she could call for. There was no Asuka, no Shinji and no Mari in this place. As Rei thought of each one and their images flashed through her head the tears only fell more freely down her face.

She brought up her finger to wipe them away only for them to be replaced a moment later. She sniffed loudly and heard the sound of her own crying echoing through the vast hallway. She sped up her steps hoping that she might reach the end of this place soon and hoping that maybe they would be waiting for her.

She pressed on, desperately wishing that they were here. If they were then she might still have been scared but at least she didn’t have to face whatever it was to come alone.

Suddenly Rei froze with fear as she reached the end of the corridor and came across an identical dark metallic door to the one she had seen last time she was here. Upon the door was the same symbol as before. A snake coiled around an apple, an upside down triangle and seven eyes. Rei brought up a trembling hand and reached out to touch the door, tracing around the apple with her finger.

_‘What is this… this is the same as before. Am I… is it going to be in here as well?’_

As if it could hear her question and wanted to answer it the door suddenly slip open and revealed the room beyond. Rei breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that it was indeed different to the one from last time. Instead of having a tank central to it this room seemed to resemble some sort of command centre. A number of consoles had been set up facing towards a giant screen.

Rei took one step into the room and jumped, nearly screaming out in shock as the door suddenly shut with a loud thump behind her. She span around and placed her hand on it trying to see if it would open again. She curled her hand into a fist and hammered once against it before realizing that it was indeed shut and was not going to re-open.

As she stepped away another chill ran through her spine. She was not alone in this room anymore. There was someone else here with her.

“Welcome back… Rei Ayanami.” Spoke a soft and familiar sounding voice.

Rei wiped another tear away and slowly turned around. She came face to face with the source of the voice. He was stood at the other side of the room between two of the consoles, directly in front of the large screen. He had a warm smile just as he always had done. He was wearing something resembling one of their plugsuits but it was not one that she had seen before. This design was completely black but with a blood-red diamond symbol in the centre of his chest.

She didn’t know whether to be relieved by his presence or terrified because of it. Whilst it was nice to see someone familiar him being her made no sense. He had died weeks ago and he should not be here any long.

“You are frightened, that is understandable.” Spoke Kaworu Nagisa, or at least someone resembling Kaworu Nagisa.

Rei tried to compose herself, tried to make an effort to sound as she might have done before.

“How are you here? You died, are you really Kaworu Nagisa?”

Kaworu nodded, “I am very much like you Rei Ayanami. A soul that is capable of inhabiting one of many vessels. Of course you would not have been aware of this whilst we knew one another. There was much you were kept in the dark of, my true nature being one of them.”

“You refer…” Rei sniffed and pre-emptively wiped a tear away, “You refer to you being an Angel?”

Kaworu seemed to frown for a moment at her question but the smile quickly returned, “Yes, I suppose that is one way of putting it. Yet I am much more than that, much like you are much more than you think you are.”

“I do not understand, how is it that you are here? What is this place?”

“This is our birthplace, or at least in so much that our souls were forged here. This is the location in which everything began for us and where everything will end. Yet…”

Kaworu paused for a brief moment, “Yet I fear it is not yet time for you to see this or be here.”

Rei ignored the last part of what he had said, instead she focused on what he had said before.

“I do not understand, my soul was not forged here. It could not have been, my soul is that of Yui Ikari… I am…”

“No, that is simply what Gendo Ikari wanted you to believe. That your soul and body was just based upon his wife and what they could extract at the time. The truth is Rei… you are so much more than that. Yet I am unable to tell you more than this for now. This is something you must discover for yourself.”

Rei gazed downwards trying to make sense of what he had said. She had already learned so much about herself in the past few weeks in regards to her own life. It was tough for her to make sense of that without this additional confusion.

“Tell me something Rei, is Shinji Ikari happy at this moment in time?”

Rei’s head snapped up and she frowned, “Why are you asking about Shinji?”

“My desire… is to ensure that Shinji Ikari knows happiness. So tell me, is he happy where he is?”

“I… am not sure. There is a conflict within Shinji at this moment in time. He seems to be happy with certain aspects but unhappy with others. He is seeking answers to questions he has at this moment in time and attempting to make sense of all that has happened.

“I see, I regret that I might have been the cause for some of this and I fear that I might be the cause of more unhappiness and uncertainty for him as time progresses.”

Without meaning to Rei suddenly stepped forward, her voice raised, “You will not hurt Shinji! I will…”

“I have no desire to hurt Shinji Ikari, my desire is to see that he is happy and safe yet you know as well as I do there are others who do not share my desire and wish to use Shinji in their own plans. I have the same wishes you do for your brother, to ensure that he is happy but to ensure that… will be difficult, he will have to ensure more pain…”

Kaworu paused and looked around the room. He seemed to become fixated on one of the other doors for a brief time before he finally turned to Rei and spoke again.

“You must leave this place now Rei. It is not yet time for you to be here, it is not yet ready for you. You will return though and when you do, you will find the answers you seek. As will he. Goodbye.”

“Wait I…”

Rei started to speak but was cut off by a sudden and dazzling flash of white light. She raised her hands to shield her eyes until it eventually subsided. When it left she found herself safely tucked up in the bed of the cell she had been assigned to on the Wunder. She sat up and looked around the room, everything here was exactly how it had been when she had gone to sleep.

She could feel her bedclothes sticking to her with sweat and dampness around herself from the tears she had cried.

_‘That was… just a dream?’_

She pulled off her nightshirt and threw it onto the ground and watched as he fell besides a small pink teddy bear that had tumbled onto the floor. She quickly scrambled to pick it up and smiled softly clutching it to her chest. Silent she lay back down trying to shake off the strange feelings that dream had brought her. Instead she focused on the warmth of the bear and the smile of the person who had given it to her until she fell into a, thankfully, dreamless sleep.

XXX

Shinji looked at himself in the bathroom mirror his eyes fixated on the DSS Choker around his neck. When it had been placed on him the first time he had been terrified, of what it was and what it represented. A device that when triggered would explode, killing him instantly. He could remember exactly what he was told about it. That it was his punishment and a symbol of their distrust.

He raised a hand and ran a finger along the smooth black material before stopping on the red marker on the center. As his hand finger traced around it he remember what had happened to Kaworu as a result of the choker. He pulled his hand away suddenly afraid that any further handling of the object might trigger the same response that took his friend.

_'Misato... Do you really hate me now?'_

He felt tears burning behind his eyes as he continued to look at the choker. For a moment he felt the urge to scream out and drive his fist through the glass but restrained himself. He wanted to get the damn thing off, he wanted things to go back to normal and he wanted to see her. Yet he knew that couldn't happen. This was his punishment, things would never go back to normal and based on what had happened the other day seeing Misato was going to be tough. Even if she wanted to see him he didn't know if he'd react in the same way. He was afraid that he would freeze up again, that he'd be sick again or pass out.

Yet he wanted to see her so desperately. So he could apologize, so he could demand to know what was happening, so that he could know if she really blamed him and so that he could figure out his future.

_'What's going to happen to me Misato... Do you need me here?'_

XXX

Misato Katsuragi exited her quarters and turned straight into the corridor preparing to head towards the command centre of the Wunder. Overnight the ship had started to resume its journey towards Neo-London and barring anymore surprises should be there within a couple of days.

Misato's night have been plagued by strange dreams and nightmares, the effects of the past few weeks finally starting to take their toll on the captain. She had tried her best to remain stoic and distant, to not show that emotion that lay beneath the surface for him but she could feel it eating away at her with each passing day.

The recovery of Unit 01 and by extension Shinji Ikari had been tough and unexpected. Although she hadn't admitted it to Asuka she had in fact given up a long time ago on the idea of ever seeing him again. Instead she had started to focus on her new task, destroying NERV and trying to set right this world that had been created because of Shinji's actions. Her responsibilities now lay with the crew of the Wunder, to WILLE and ensuring that NERV was stopped.

His return had brought with it uncertainty on how to act. At first it was easy for her. She treated him as she would any other danger to the ship she might have come across. Applying the DSS Choker and putting him into solitary confinement. She was there for the first confirmation from Ritsuko that it was indeed Shinji. That had been the first assault on her barrier. Still she resolved to remain distant.

Then he had been recovered by NERV. That had been unexpected. She had imagined that recovering Unit 01 and the battle in orbit might have attracted attention but them getting to Shinji straight away, that had been unusual.

A part of her wondered if maybe she should have dropped her guard for that one moment. Called out to him and said that they would help him explain to him what had happened. Only it never surfaced, too many years of suppressing her feelings for her former ward. So Shinji had escaped, she could have used the trigger to stop him there and then. Maybe someone else would have done but she couldn't bring herself to pull it. If that really was Shinji then she couldn't just kill him like that.

A plan had been put in place shortly afterwards to recover him. It was Ritsuko's suggestion, her theory was that Gendo might try to use Shinji to attack WILLE or even start another Impact. Unfortunately for them she was correct. The Wunder was able to make it back just in time to help stop the Fourth Impact from happening.

All this had served to do was complicate matters further. From that moment on Shinji was not just the concern of the Wunder but of interest to WILLE and what remained of the UN. She was receiving requests to turn him over to them. To have him put on trial for his actions both with NERV after being recovered and even for the Near-Third Impact itself.

Shinji was a complicated matter in the world. Those that knew of him were divided in their opinion. Some blamed him for the state of the world, believed that if he hadn't pushed his Eva to its limits on that day the world wouldn't have fallen. Some heralded him as a fallen hero who did what he could and couldn't be blamed for that happened. Misato knew where most of the opinions of her superiors lay and also knew what'd happen to Shinji if she did turn him over to them. Even with her attempting to remain distant she had no desire to see him suffer that fate.

_'Damn you Shinji... It would have been much easier if you had remained inside Unit 01... There isn't anything for you in this world anymore...'_

"Captain Katsuragi, are you on your way to the command centre?"

Misato stopped in her tracks at the sound of her name being called. She turned to see one of the ships lead technicians, a former NERV 'Bridge Bunny' as they were nicknamed, Maya Ibuki making her way towards her. Misato gave a small nod of acknowledgment.

"Actually I was just going up there now. Is there something you needed?"

Maya frowned but did not hesitate in giving her reply. Every time Misato encountered Maya she was always surprised at just how much the woman had changed. In NERV she had always seemed so shy and timid, a fantastic mind but very quiet. The near Third Impact had changed that. Maya was not the same timid person she once was, she had a commanding presence about her and could lead a team with no hesitation. She was also one of those that blamed Shinji for what had happened fourteen years ago, "Actually yes there is Captain. I'll get straight to the point, there have been a number of discussions over the last day amongst members of my team."

"I see, regarding what exactly?" Misato asked the question but she was fairly certain she already knew the answer to it.

"Regarding the Angel attack yesterday and the status of Shinji Ikari aboard this ship. It is their and now my understanding that he was helping out in the medical bay yesterday."

Misato gave a nod, "That is correct. I suppose you heard about this from Ritsuko?"

"Ritsuko did inform me, but a member of my team was down there yesterday and observed him treating the injured. I mean no disrespect Captain but what are you thinking allowing him access to other parts of the ship and its crew. Having him on board the ship is one thing but after what he pulled with NERV he should be confined to the brig until we can hand him off."

Misato quickly cut him, "I understand your concerns Ibuki and that of your team but the situation regarding Shinji Ikari is my responsibility and it is under control. Every precaution has been taken to ensure he will not pose a threat to us. He is being monitored at all times."

"By who? Sakura Suzahara? Pilot Shikinami? You know about their feelings for him, it's hardly an appropriate security detail! What about when they aren't available? In addition to this we also have that thing on board as well!"

"Enough!" Misato raised her voice, "Suzahara and Shikinami are more than capable of dealing with Shinji, in addition to this I also have a guard posted near to him for when they might not be avalible. Shinji will not be able to roam the ship freely and he is confined to Pilot Shikinami's quarters until we reach Neo-London."

"And what then?

"And then I have a decision to make regarding his future. This situation is a delicate one and his recovery has caused us some unnecessary complications but as the captain of the Wunder it is down to me to dictate what happens next. I understand your concerns and that of your teams and others on board but I will not allow anything to happen. Is that understood?"

Misato couldn't tell if her words had calmed Maya down or made matters worse. It was hard to read her at times, "Yes Captain."

"Good. Inform your team that everything has been noted but it's under control. I guarantee them that there will be no threat from Shinji Ikari."

"I will inform them but..." Maya paused for a moment, "Without sounding insolent I hope that you aren't letting your past affiliations with Shinji get in the way of making the correct decision. We'd be better off without him onboard, we should not have even allowed him to-"

Misato interupted her again this time raising her voice, "That is enough Ibuki! It is not your decision to make nor is it anyone else's but mine. I will handle the situation and that is the last I want to hear of it. Am I understood?"

Maya, seemingly taken aback by Misato's anger nodded, "Of course Captain."

Misato watched as Maya turned and started back down the corridor before dropping out of view. She waited a few moments before letting out a sigh.

_'Damn you Shinji Ikari'_

XXX

Asuka stretched out before adjusting her eyepatch and gazing at herself in the mirror for a moment. She could see the dark marks under her eyes, a souvenir from her poor night of sleep. It hadn't been enough for Mari and Rei to have left later than Asuka would have liked but her night had been filled with vivid nightmares that had kept her from sleeping as peacefully as she should.

She let out a sigh and turned away from the mirror zipping her jacket up in the process. The nightmares had been horrific, showing twisted variances on what had happened yesterday. A menagerie of what-ifs that Asuka didn't want to think about. What if she had frozen up whilst fighting the Angel just as she had done in battles before? What if they hadn't have gotten it when they did and those creatures had swarmed the Wunder and killed everyone on board? What if they had failed to stop it altogether?

Each variance ended the same way for Asuka, with her coming back to find Shinji dead in some way. Each variance seemed more real than the last.

_'There were just nightmares damnit, why am I letting them bother me so much? None of that happened! He's alive, I'm alive and the Angel isn't. There is nothing more to it than that...'_

Yet she couldn't shake the horrible feelings that they had implanted into her. She knew of a way to get rid of them and yet found herself unable to go to him. She had to remain strong in front of him. She had already broken down for him once and didn't want to do that again. Her pride wouldn't let her, she was strong and didn't need comfort from Shinji whilst she slept.

Another part of her did wonder if it'd be such a bad thing for her to let him sleep in her room going forward though. They were technically together after all, she kissed him and said she had missed him. They had done stuff together and held one another when they were in her front room. Yet she had him stay out there and her in here.

_'Tonight that changes...'_

She turned back to the mirror and yawned again before fixing herself with a cold stare and tried to put the fitful nights rest behind her.

_'Time to do this Shikinami, no weakness in front of anyone. Not even him.'_

She repeated the words in her head once again and slid open her bedroom door. Almost immediately her nostrils were filled with the smell of a cooked breakfast. She watched as Shinji was setting out toast, bacon and eggs onto a plate with a smile on his face. He noticed her and looked up, "Good morning Asuka."

Asuka let out a mocking groan, "You know there are some who'd say there's nothing worse than a housebroken male?" She joked

"Seriously, fourteen years, you were trapped in an entry plug for most of it, witnessed death and destruction and survived two near apocalypses yet here you are cooking breakfast for me as if we were back at school again."

Shinji laughed, "I guess... living with you again it's just a habit. I didn't mind doing it, is something wrong with it?"

Asuka shook her head, "Not at all. You wouldn't be Shinji if you didn't do stuff like this."

He nodded, "I just... I wish Misato was... well that it was how it used to be."

Asuka shrugged in response and sat herself down at the table. She wasn't quite sure of what to say to Shinji in relation to the comment about Misato. A part of her wished it could have been that way too. Back when there were just the three of them and PenPen living in the apartment. Yet she had been in this world too long now to know it could never be like that again and all she could do was progress forward.

"Sorry... I know it can't be like that Asuka. I didn't mean to..."

Asuka quickly cut him off, wishing to change the subject.

"More food here that I didn't actually have in my cupboards. I'm guessing that you got Sakura to grab these from the canteen as well?"

Shinji nodded, "Yeah. I made sure I woke up before you did and asked her to grab them for me. I thought you might like something when you wake up."

"Very thoughtful of you Third. Although if this continues I am expecting complaints from the staff there soon about why I keep on taking their ingredients..."

"Sorry... it's just, you don't really have a lot here do you?"

Asuka wasn't sure if he had meant to say it in such an accusatory tone but she had taken it that way. She stabbed at a piece of bacon and frowned, "And just what are you implying by that?"

"N-Nothing! I just... thought... nothing!"

Shaking the fork at him she continued, "Good! Because it isn't like I'm not capable or couldn't have done any of this myself! I just prefer to keep my things clean and streamlined that's all. Besides we have a working canteen so I could have just gone there myself."

"I-I know that I just..."

"And besides I'm a pretty good cook too!"

Scrambling for some way to stem her anger Shinji quickly latched onto her last sentence, "Really? I didn't know, I mean... when we lived together you didn't..."

"Of course I am! Alright maybe I'm not as perfect as you but I'll surprise you one day by cooking you something."

Asuka trailed off immediately as the memory of the time she was actually going to cook him a meal suddenly popped into her head. It was before she had agreed to pilot Unit 03 and at the time was a somewhat jealous response to seeing people praise Shinji for his cooking ability and try to impress him.

It was the first and only time she had ever actually attempted to cook for someone and as had been the case for most things in her life, had not gone as she had hoped. She could remember the cuts and burns on her hands from all the accidents she had when practicing. She could also remember the bitter disappointment she had felt when she made the decision to now go through with it.

It was a simple encounter with Rei that had gotten her to change her mind. Seeing and hearing about how Rei was going to throw a dinner party for Shinji, an attempt to bring Shinji and his father closer, had made her decide against it. She didn't want to impress Shinji anymore, she didn't want to get closer to him or others. So instead she would give him, his father and the others the opportunity to get closer whilst she would volunteer and pilot Evangelion Unit 03.

She had of course not known back then that the decision she made would have led to her not seeing Shinji again for over fourteen years. Nor had she known that the dinner party would not go ahead as planned. Unit 03 had become infected by an Angel and Asuka had suffered life threatening injuries as a result. She was put into a coma for months and when she finally woke up, her entire world had changed.

Lost in her introspection she jumped as she heard Shinji suddenly call out to her, "Asuka... are you alright?"

She looked up and immediately tried to fix her expression, "Huh? Oh yeah... I'm fine."

Asuka silently cursed herself. She hadn’t realized that she had been sat there silently for nearly a minute going through those old memories. As much as she might have used to think it, Shinji wasn’t stupid, he would have noticed something was up. Fortunately he didn’t seem to press the matter.

“Good, so what are you doing today? I mean I know you pilot the Eva but… what about when you’re not piloting?”

Asuka gave a simple shrug, “It changes. Some days I’ll do sync tests and others I’ll run simulator training. I think now that we have those TARKUS suits they’ll want me to work with the cadets.

“Cadets?”

Asuka gave a nod, “Yeah, well you know only a select few special people can pilot the Eva’s right? Me and Mari on board the ship. Alright yeah sure, you and Rei are capable but like hell either of you two are going to be let near an Eva again. So with that in mind they’re training a new batch of people in those silly TARKUS Units and they want me to help train them and put them through their paces.”

“So what will you do with them?”

“I don’t know, probably run them through the simulator. Maybe pair them off and have them fight one another and see who comes out on top, or run one of the Angel simulations.”

“They can fight Angels?”

“Probably not and I don’t think they wanted to take any chances yesterday so for now it’s just me and Mari who can fight them.” Asuka looked up to see the glance from Shinji and frowned at him, “Don’t you dare get any ideas or I might start calling you brat again.”

“I wasn’t it just seems… a lot for you and Mari…”

“Yeah well I can handle it so don’t worry about me. You just focus on doing nothing until Misato lightens up. I’m getting sick of seeing that collar on you.”

Shinji nodded, “I will… I hate it too. I hate that I can’t even face Misato anymore.”

“Still scared of her huh?”

Shinji nodded again, “Yeah… I think. I think about how she was when we first met. I didn’t like her much then, she seemed irresponsible and a bit of a slob but… “

Asuka sniggered, “She still is.”

“But then I saw that she did care and what she was really like. She was like a parent to me that I never had and I screwed it all up. I don’t think I can ever face her again Asuka… I don’t know what I’d say to her and I don’t think she’d want to see me either.”

“You’ll face her Shinji. I’ll make sure of it, regardless of whether you want to or not. You have to.”

Shinji glanced down at his plate, “I know I do but… I don’t know how.”

“You’ll think of something. Just like you did during the fight against the fifth Angel, which I might add the cadets were very impressed with.”

Shinji suddenly looked back up, “I guess- wait they saw it?”

Grinning Asuka replied, “Oh yes, we’ve studied your solo fights against the Angels. The aim of the class was to perfect the best way to say ‘I mustn’t run away’ before screaming loudly. I think they nailed it.”

Shinji felt himself blush, “They heard… and saw all of that?”

She laughed, “No they didn’t see or hear that part. Both fights were useful though in teaching them that there will be situations where things won’t go as planned and you might have to improvise. Fair enough the fourth Angel wasn’t the best example of it but the fifth one was. You lost your weapon, encountered civilians and had to disobey orders to defeat the Angel. Cadets will have to think for themselves sometimes and go against orders to win.”

“Misato didn’t seem to think it was a good idea…”

“No, that’s because your attitude after winning stunk. You acted like a brat and that’s what she disliked. If you had explained your actions properly before carrying them out or been a bit less… well less like you afterwards she wouldn’t have acted like she did.”

“I suppose… I was a bit of an idiot.”

Asuka finished the last part of her meal and shook her fork in his direction again, “Regardless it’s a lesson. Naturally of course the best lesson is my glorious entrance seventh. An exercise in grace and elegance. I’m sure you remember it?”

“How could I forget…” Shinji nodded.

“That was our first meeting.”

“Yeah… you shoved me over and basically said I was useless…”

“Oh yeah!” Asuka laughed, “I was right as well wasn’t I? Well never mind, just… stay put today and I’ll try to sort out your collar too. I’ve got to get going, thank you for the breakfast.”

Asuka rose from her seat and made her way across to Shinji kissing him softly on the cheek. He felt himself blush, “T-Thank you Asuka… for everything.”

XXX

Rei was beginning to feel a sense of frustration set in as her mouse cursor hovered over another of the files on the machine. She clicked and watched as it opened in front of her revealing nothing but an array of corrupted data. Much like many others on this machine this would be of no use to any of them.

She closed the file down and let out a sigh before moving it into a directory she had set aside specifically for these corrupted data. Repeating this task had comprised the bulk of her morning. Ritsuko had come to see her shortly after she had woken up with morning. She had come with a request, asking Rei to go through an unsorted mountain of data that had been obtained from NERV a long time ago.

The hope was that by organizing the data Rei might be able to uncover something that had gone overlooked until now. From what Rei could understand all this data had been acquired but no one had ever sat down to go through it, the focus had been on establishing the human cities and a force to defend against SEELE or NERV.

Unfortunately it seemed to be quite a fruitless task so far. The small amount of data Rei could find that wasn’t corrupted was not going to be of any use. Data on NERV personnel or technical specifications of the Eva’s, maps of Tokyo-3 and the old GeoFront.

She opened another file and raised a curious eyebrow at its content. This was a little bit more interesting than what she had seen so far. A report written up after the encounter with the sixth Angel. On one side of the first page was a surveillance image of the Angel, underneath was its official designation as the sixth Angel and a name it had been given, ‘Ramiel.’

Rei felt a chill run down her spine as she remembered this particular encounter. It was her first real combat engagement with an Angel and also the first time two Evangelion Units had been deployed against an Angel, Rei in Unit 00 and Shinji in Unit 01. The Angel also held the dubious honor of being the first to penetrate the GeoFront.

Whilst the document itself seemed to be quite interesting it didn’t seem to contain anything that’d be of use to them. There were details on the plan to defeat the Angel, designated ‘Operation Yashima’. A medical report on Shinji after he had been attacked during the first engagement with the Angel. Some technical specifications on the cannon used to ultimately defeat Ramiel but nothing of use to them.

Behind her she heard the door opening. Thinking that it was Doctor Akagi returning to receive an update on progress Rei mentally prepared an explanation. To her surprise however it was not Akagi but instead the voice of Mari that rang out across the room.

“Well hello there Blue! What ya doin’ all alone in here?”

 Rei began to turn in her seat but without being given a chance to fully turn and reply Mari had quickly bounded over to Rei and was now within very close proximity. She rested one hand on Rei’s shoulders and seemed to eagerly cast her eyes over the screen. Mari turned her head flicking her hair back, Rei found her face suddenly assaulted by one of Mari’s pigtails.

Mari laughed, “Sorry about that blue.”

Rei removed the ticklish and also very pleasant smelling hair from her face and gazed up at Mari. Mari was focused on the screen taking something of a deep interest on the contents.

“Hmm. So this is the one that you and the puppy fought huh? Interesting…”

Rei nodded, “Yes, this was the Sixth Angel.”

Mari grinned at Rei before looking at the screen again, “So they called it Ramiel huh? I wonder if they gave names to the other Angels.”

“It would be reasonable to assume that they did. I have not encountered any of the other reports yet. I do not understand the purpose of naming them though.”

“I guess SEELE or NERV just wanted to make their reports a little bit more dramatic. So let’s take a look here.”

Mari eagerly grabbed the mouse and started reading through bits of the report, “Boring… boring… Shinji in the hospital… boring… here we go, the fight itself… oh wow Blue! I’m impressed! Throwing yourself in the line of danger like that, defending Unit 01 with only the hull of a space shuttle. I like it!”

Rei couldn’t help but feel herself blush at the sudden burst of enthusiasm and compliments from Mari, “I was just… following my orders. I had been asked to defend Unit 01.”

“So why has Akagi got you doing this? Is this some sort of punishment for when you tried to blow us all up?”

Rei lowered her eyes, “I… apologize if I caused any of you harm. I did not know… what I was…”

The apology only drew a sharp laugh from Mari, “Hey! Don’t worry about it, you were manipulated, Shinji was manipulated and the guy who died… well he ended up dying didn’t he so clearly it didn’t work out as he would have liked either. We know what a bastard Gendo Ikari is, but you’re here to help stop him and his friends now aren’t you?”

Rei nodded, “I… yes I am.”

“Good, that’s all that matters then. So anyway, you didn’t answer my question.”

“Doctor Akagi wished for me to go through the data collected from NERVs archives. She was wondering if some of it might have been useful in learning why another Angel appeared yesterday.”

“Ah so you’re the person she said she’d get to look through all of it. Well I can’t say I envy you, when I was IPEA before coming to Tokyo-3 I used to hate looking through the reports they’d send and that was only one of them, can’t imagine what this must be like.”

“It is… a frustrating experience.”

“Well I’m sure we’ll find something… hey, how about this one?”

Before Rei got a chance to respond Mari had already opened up another of the files. Her grin evaporated immediately as the image of a large tank appeared on screen with several smaller tanks set aside near to it. The larger tank was filled with a liquid she recognized as LCL. It was what she could see inside the tanks that had shocked her though. She turned to see Rei had averted her eyes.

“Shit… I didn’t…” Mari trailed off awkwardly.

Rei’s gaze returned to the screen. She studied the image carefully seeing the contents of the tank gave her a strange feeling. Within it were a number of floating bodies, each one looked to be asleep and each one was identical to her. It was a sudden and shocking reminder of what exactly she was.

“It is… fine, I am aware of what I am… or was. I just didn’t expect to see this…”

Mari read the title of the report aloud, “Dummy Plug Processing Facility… for the eyes of Commander Ikari, Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki and Chief of Project E Ritsuko Akagi only. Hold on a minute? Akagi knew what you were?”

Rei nodded, “Yes… she used to administer my medical treatment in those days. She was always kind to me…”

“Interesting…”

“I do not understand.”

“She never mentioned anything… I mean we found out… about your true nature shortly after your original was pulled into Unit 01. The IPEA got a tip off about this place and investigated, that’s how we came to find out about the Ayanami series… Ritsuko however… well she didn’t seem to mention anything about it.”

“Maybe she did not think it was relevant.”

“Maybe… There were rumours… but, I guess it doesn’t matter now. Look lets go grab lunch. I’m sure this stuff can wait a little bit longer.”


	7. Selling England by the Pound

“Captain we have confirmation from Neo London, we are clear to dock.”

Misato rose from her seat and took a small step forward towards the edge of the command platform. She gazed across at the display showing the scene in front of them. There was still some distance to close but she could see the last docking area that had been specially build to accommodate the Wunder. Beyond that lay the sprawling city of Neo-London.

Today was a cold yet bright day, there were no clouds in the sky which added only to the scenery around Neo London. This part of the world was one of the few that the red weeds of chaos and destruction hadn’t taken hold. There were of course others, some natural and some artificial and it was always pleasant to see sea of green that seemed to stretch on for miles.

“Very good Nagara. Plot a course to bring us in slowly and carefully.”

Nagara gave a nod and started to adjust the controls at her station. They were being extra careful today, this was the first time the Wunder had the opportunity to dock at one of the human cities. It was a large vessel so a lot had gone into building the custom purpose docks to accommodate its arrival.

The Wunder slowly began to rotate gently to face the docking platform head on. Once it had reached the correct angle it began to lower itself.

“Target height and rotation has been achieved, I’m bringing her in now.”

As the Wunder began to make its way towards the platform the details of it were revealed to the bridge staff. Of immediate interest was the crowd of people that had gathered on the docking platform. They were all stood behind a barrier with a number of security guards positioned are regular intervals.

In front of the barrier a number of WILLE personnel could be seen hurrying about readying various equipment to handle the final docking of the Wunder. The ships engineer give out a loud laugh, “Hah, looks like they got a little welcoming committee out for us. Get a load of that crowd.”

Misato was not quite as impressed at the scene as her bridge staff seemed to be. She knew the arrival of the Wunder would have drawn attention but a group this size was certainly not what was expected. Immediately her mind began go through all the potential risks and scenarios that could come into play. Additional security would be needed for her crew, perhaps restrictions on what people could or couldn't say and naturally any mention of Shinji would be strictly off limits.

She cast a quick glance over to Ritsuko, "I would have preferred our arrival to have been a bit more discreet given our circumstances."

Ritsuko, who going by her expression was sharing similar to concerns to Misato simply nodded, "It would seem that we don't quite have that luxury. I suppose people don't see something like the Wunder roll into the city every day and given our status as the flagship of WILLE and the fleet it was bound to draw attention."

"Have some of our security team meet with their people. I want the crew as protected as possible when leaving the ship. We can't afford to take any chances."

“I’ll have it done right away.”

Ritsuko picked up a small receiving to begin issuing out Misato's orders to the security team, as she did so Misato turned once again to the large display. She watched as the Wunder was now reaching its optimal positon.

“Target position reached. They are releasing the magnetic clamps now.”

Outside of the Wunder four pairs of cranes simultaneous extended themselves upwards. Each one carrying a large magnetic clamp which lowered themselves onto the upper hull. Four positioned in front of the wings, four behind it. As they connected there was a dull thud throughout the ship.

“Magnetic clamps have attached successfully. I’m extending the landing gear.” Nagara reported.

The ship rumbled slightly as the landing gear was lowered from the bottom of the Wunders’ Hull. The Wunder had been designed so that it would be able to take off and land in most situations. Its landing gear comprised of four pairs of 'legs' that could be extended and retracted when a surface landing was required. The ship was also capable of landing and taking off from sea if necessary.

As the gear extended itself from the hull a platform was also being slowly positioned below the Wunder. Once both procedures had completed the magnetic clamps holding the Wunder in place slowly began to lower the vessel softly onto the platform.

"Landing gear has been extended and we are now safely on the docking platform. The AAA Wunder has successfully docked at Neo-London."

"Good work, Nagara."

Misato attention was soon drawn to the sound of an alert from one of the consoles.

"Captain Katsuragi, we're receiving a transmission from Director Barclay." Reported Kitakami, the young pink haired girl seated at the sonar and radar stations.

Misato couldn't help but smirk, they had wasted no time whatsoever.

"Just as we expected, put it up on screen."

On the screen appeared the image of a middle aged, grey haired man seated behind a desk. This man was Director Hugh Barclay, one of the Director's of WILLE and the direct liaison between WILLE and those in charge of Neo-London. He was in his late fifties and from what Misato knew of him was a senior politician in the UK before the Near-Third Impact. There was an air of arrogance about him and he was one who had a tendency to make life somewhat difficult.

Misato expected that nothing would change today. Barclay had been one of those against the Wunder Project. Expressing a view that if WILLEs aim was to stop NERV and get rid of the Eva’s, than why would they need something that utilized that very same technology. He was also against the recovery attempt which resulted in retrieving Unit 01.

It seemed that his view was that humanity should focus on rebuilding their cities and not put focus into the military. That after so many years with no contact SEELE and NERV were gone and that it was time to move forward and not waste valuable resources on chasing, as he called them, shadows.

Misato had to wonder how his views might have changed considering the sudden re-emergence of NERV, SEELE and the success of the Unit 01 recovery attempt in the past few weeks. Given what he knew of men like Barclay she expected it would be to make life even harder.

"Captain Katsuragi, it's a pleasure to see that you and your crew have arrived safely in Neo-London. You'll have to excuse us whilst we finalize a few things on our end. I must warn you that there are a few procedures that you and your crew will have to go through should they wish to depart the ship however. Given what we have heard of your little adventure and your proximity we can't be too careful.

Misato did her best to remain polite, "OF course director. May I ask what these procedures are?"

"There will be a simple registration procedure and of course decontamination to go through. There will also be an increased level of security in the areas they wish to visit, I'm sure you've noticed the group your arrival has drawn."

"Yes I did notice that."

"Unfortunately this has also attracted a certain media presence. Whilst I cannot forbid it I would advise your crew against speaking to any members of the media."

"I was thinking exactly the same thing Director."

"There is also the delicate situation regarding the 'special cargo' you have on board right now. When you depart the ship myself and some of the other directors would like to discuss with you this situation."

"I'd expect nothing less."

"In regards to your request, whilst I myself had some reservations the other directors have seen fit to approve it. I'm not quite sure how wise a decision that is but it stands, I assume you are aware that any problems caused by..."

Misato did not wait for Barclay to finish the sentence, "Yes I am aware that any problems caused as a result of my request are my responsibility and I am willing to accept any blame for any problems that might occur as a result of it. You do however, have my complete assurance that there will be no problems and all precautions have been taken."

"Very good, I would not like to see any trouble in this city during your stay. After all you've all performed admirably in the name of humanity. I will see you soon captain."

XXX

Misato’s gaze turned upwards as Asuka entered the ready room. She watched as Asukas’ gaze immediately turned towards the window, her obviously noticing the large crowd that had gathered. Whether she was bothered by it she didn’t say, instead she approached Misato’s desk.

“I already know why you’re here Asuka.”

Asuka smirked, “That obvious is it?”

“My superiors are not likely to be very agreeable and if I’m being honest it is against my better judgement but I trust you so I see no reason to deny it. You do understand though that he is your responsibility?”

Asuka nodded, “Yes I understand that.”

“You will both have to undergo decontamination and registration procedures. When they see his name in the system it won’t go unnoticed. I will make some advance arrangements to ensure everything goes smoothly but after that you’re on your own.”

“I’m aware of that.”

“There will be media snooping around and as you can see by the crowds out there we have some fans. Ensure that they don’t know it’s him. The last thing we need is word spreading that Shinji Ikari is roaming those streets. Do you understand me?”

Asuka nodded again, “Yes I do. You have nothing to worry about, I have no desire to see him or myself get hounded either. I’ve already scouted out a good route for us to avoid all of that.”

“I’m sure you have. Be careful Asuka.”

XXX

“So my name is Shinji Soryu?”

“Yes, now can you remember the other things I told you?” Asuka confirmed to him.

“I… think so. I work in the ships canteen. I’m an orphan and grew up in one of the Tokyo-2 camps. I play the piano and I like classical music.”

“Very good, now you’re going to have to give your real name to the person when we go through registration. Misato has already arranged for that to go smoothly but from there onwards you are Shinji Soryu, you will receive a card that says Shinji Soryu and you will introduce yourself as such.”

“Misato arranged this?”

Asuka gave a short nod, “Yes, I went to see her this morning to ask for permission to take you into the city. She already knew why I was there and had started making the arrangements.”

I see, Shinji lowered his eyes not quite sure what to make of that news. He had not expected Misato to have allowed him to leave the ship so easily let alone have already put things in place for him to do so. Of course he hadn’t had any contact with Misato since the incident in his cell last week nor had he heard anything from Asuka about his status on the ship. His assumption was that Misato had simply forgotten about him.

As he looked back up he saw Asuka looking at him curiously, “Hmm, what to do about that… I know.”

She left the room and a few moments later re-entered carrying something in her hand. She threw one of the items towards Shinji.

“Here put that on.”

Shinji examined it turning over the blue material in his hand, “A scarf… but why?”

“Because I don’t want you to catch a cold, why do you think idiot? The stupid collar around your neck! If people see that they’re going to ask questions.”

Shinji instinctively brought a hand up to the collar and traced around it for a moment with his finger, “Oh… Yeah…”

“Seasons in this part of the world are a little bit weird, at the moment they’re having a long winter so someone wearing a scarf won’t be that unusual. Just make sure you don’t take it off at any time. Also you’ll probably want this as well.”

She tossed the other items at Shinji, he caught it to see that is was a long light beige jacket. He put it on quickly and wrapped the scarf around his neck making sure to hide the collar. Asuka stepped closer to him adjusting it ever so slightly before taking a step back.

If Asuka were the sort to use those sorts of words she’d have to admit he looked cute, maybe even adorable. The jacket fit him really well, hanging down to just above his knees. The scarf sat neatly on his shoulders, covering his neck and chin and coming to a stop just under his mouth. His hair had been brushed neatly with his fringe evenly distributed across his forehead. He wore a sweet and genuine smile. One of only a few she had seen since he had been recovered.

“Well I guess that will do. Shall we go then?”

XXX

Ritsuko finished what was left in her cup and grimaced at the taste. She didn't particularly enjoy coffee as it was, even less so when it had been made by Misato. As far as the captain of the Wunder, as far as they had all came over the last fourteen years, enduring the near destruction of their world, breaking away from NERV, forging new alliances and the birth of WILLE one simple fact remained. Misato Katsuragi was, and would forever remain terrible when it came to making anything to be consumed.

Ritsuko couldn't help but smile at the thought of it. She had seen Misato change significantly over the years. She had become a colder person. She no longer wore her emotions on her sleeve like she used to. She no longer greeted people with a cheery smile. Yet every now and then glimpses of the old Misato could be seen, her ability to formulate plans that seemed like they'd never work being one example.

The crew had seen this first hand when Misato had ordered the first flight of the Wunder. They had seen it again when they had charged head first into the aborted fourth impact and a third time during the attack by the fourteenth Angel. As much as Misato had changed, she was still in many ways that same reckless person she had been many years ago. The same person who had ordered three Evangelion Units to catch an Angel as it plummeted to Earth.

Ritsuko wondered just how much of that old Misato was left. She could see the conflict within Misato relating to Shinji. Ritsuko had to admit she hadn't exactly helped in that matter herself. She had encouraged Misato to use the collar on Shinji and even activate it when NERV came to take him away.

_'Is she had listened to me... he would have died. We'd have murdered him because of the actions of his father... What would that have made us I wonder?'_

Ritsuko was conflicted as regards Shinji. If it was up to her she'd have handed Shinji off to the authorities in Neo-London. Have be given a new identity, layers of security and forge a new life. She knew that many, such as her girlfriend Maya, wished that Shinji be imprisoned for his actions on the day of the Near-Third and that he answer for what he done.

_'That would not be fair. He was encouraged... by all of us to be that person. He was not to know the power that lay within him or within Unit 01. The blame for that lies with his father and those who knew it was going to happen. Yet just having him around is dangerous... what do we do with him?'_

"Doctor Akagi?"

Ritsuko turned towards the source of the voice to see Rei standing at the entrance to the room. Rei was another source of conflict at the moment. Unlike the situation with Shinji though, opinion was not divided on Rei. It was to be expected, Rei had been a part of NERV for all this time and had executed direct attacks on WILLE.

Rei was seen as an enemy. Her mysterious nature had not helped matters. Her time spent in close proximity to the ultimate enemy, Gendo Ikari had many feeling that she should never have been allowed on the ship and that she would ultimately betray them.

Ritsuko was one of the few who held a different opinion. It helped that Ritsuko knew exactly who and what Rei was. She knew about her importance to Gendo and her importance beyond that. She also had a personal stake in the matter, having been in charge of Rei’s treatment before the Near-Third Impact.

"Ah Rei, come on in and take a seat. I wanted to talk to you about a few things that I haven't had a chance to since you boarded the Wunder."

Rei quietly entered the room and sat herself down obediently in a seat near to Ritsukos’ desk.

"First of all regarding the treatment, has everything been fine so far? You haven't experienced any unusual side-effects so far?"

"No, I have been fine."

"Good. Now about your living arrangements on-board the Wunder. I'm sure you're aware that... it is something of a delicate situation as far as yourself and Shinji are concerned?"

Rei nodded, "Yes. I am perceived as your enemy and therefore I am confined to a cell. I understand this."

"But you don't like it?"

"I do... not like this arrangement no." Rei admitted.

"I thought so. What I'd like to do then is offer you some basic quarters. There will of course be a guard positioned near to them at all times but I think you will find the arrangement somewhat more agreeable then what you have so far. You would be afforded more privacy and comfort than what you have now."

Rei gave a slight nod, "I would like that, thank you."

"I'll put in the request later today."

"I do have some concerns though. Would the rest of the crew not be uncomfortable with this arrangement? I already know how they feel about Shinji being where he is, if I were also given this arrangement then would they not dislike this as well?"

Ritsuko paused for a moment unsure of how to really answer Rei's concern. Rei was of course quite correct in what she said. Much like the situation with Shinji many would not like the arrangement and there was potential for some to lodge a complaint. Ritsuko was already aware that Maya had intended to meet with Katsuragi about moving Shinji away.

"The honest answer to that is yes, many people would dislike that. Yet I think having you confined to a cell in the fashion that you have been would only serve to enhance that feeling of unease. By moving you unto quarters of your own it shows that myself and Captain Katsuragi trust you, and in time others will come to do so."

"I see... thank you. I hope that I can earn their forgiveness in time then."

"I'm sure you will. Now I had something else I wanted to go through. I understand if the idea of this would make you uncomfortable but I can grant you permission to go into the city today should you like it."

Rei took a while to reply, seemingly thinking it over. Ritsuko was not entirely sure how Rei would respond to something like this. For Ritsuko it would be an interesting test of just who and how far Rei had come. If this was the Rei of old then she would likely decline the request or ask if it was an order for her to go into the city.

Ritsuko however knew that Rei was beginning to change. She had seen these changes a long time ago, the exposure to Shinji and the others had triggered it but that was before the Near-Third Impact and it was at a time when Gendo was still attempting to suppress and control it. Here Rei had the shackled taken off.

"I think... I would like that. Asuka and Makinami did seem enthusiastic about the idea of visiting and Makinami did ask if I would have liked to go."

"Makinami asked?" Ritsuko raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Yes, I have been spending some time with Pilot Makinami. She visits me on evenings and also took me to visit Asuka and Shinji to celebrate the victory against the Angel."

_'Interesting, Mari has taken an interest in Rei. I'll have to keep an eye on this, Mari has a tendency to dig into places she shouldn't.'_

"I would like some information though. Whilst I would like to go into the city I am not entirely sure of where it is we are or what there is within."

"Ah. I am assuming that he was not forthcoming with information about the wider world?"

Rei shook her head, "He was not. Most of what I know of the world is of my pre-Third Impact life. Most of what I do know about the world is no longer relevant. Tokyo-3 no longer exists and there were many gaps in my knowledge even then."

Ritsuko could hear the sadness in Rei's voice as she spoke. When younger Rei had been an inquisitive child, she always asked questions about the world and how it worked. Unfortunately due to her nature and importance to the project Gendo had made sure it was suppressed. Rei was made to life a sheltered life and steered in a particular direction.

The feeling was that if she knew too much, if the learned too much she'd become a risk. In order to suppress this she was given a particular cocktail of drugs and treatment to keep her senses dulled.

_'The others... they don't know about that nor would they understand it. This is why we have to keep her on board, so that I can make up for what I did to her and for what I was a part of...'_

"Well Rei... I have to admit the outside world isn't exactly my area of expertise. I'm sure Mari or Asuka can probably fill you in a bit more on that. The place we are at now is called Neo-London, it was build after the Near-Third Impact wiped out most of what was left of the United Kingdom."

"I believe one of them mentioned that it was actually in what was Northern France?"

Ritsuko gave a nod, "That's correct. France needed aid after the Near-Third Impact and those that survived in the United Kingdom were able to give it. A treaty was drawn up to divide the land up and strengthen the bonds between the two nations. So now Northern France is actually the new United Kingdom."

"I see."

"I haven't really spent much time inside the city itself except for meetings but from what I understand they made quite the effort to build it with the idea of preserving a lot the old London. Architecture and landmarks have been recreated to mimic the original and whilst it isn't quite as large as the original it remains a popular destination in this world. It's seen as a bit of a symbol for humanities resistance and is one of the few tourist destinations left."

"I understand, I think that it would be nice to visit it then."

"Good. I'll have everything drawn up and will have Pilot Makinami report to your cell. I'm sure you'd rather her escort you than one of the regular guards."

Rei nodded enthusiastically and Ritsuko couldn't help but notice the blush appear on Rei's cheeks, "Yes, I would like that."

 _'Does Rei... like Mari as well? I was just assigning Makinami to her so that she'd have a familiar and friendly face but she seemed very enthusiastic about that._ '

"Rei how do you feel about Makinami?"

"I enjoy spending time with her. She is an interesting individual and I am happy when she is nearby. She is also very helpful. I was happy when she provided support in the task you gave me."

"Mari has been aiding you with that?" Ritsuko asked with some surprise.

Rei nodded, "Yes she has been helping me organize the data. We were able to come up with the list of Angel names together, including a few that do not seem to correspond with ones we have encountered."

Rei couldn't help but notice the frown across Ritsukos’ face, "Is there a problem?"

Ritsuko quickly changed her expression and shook her head, "No not at all but I shall have to have a word with Mari about this. She was supposed to have been aiding Asuka with the cadets."

"Mari mentioned that Asuka told her she could handle it on her own."

Ritsuko sighed, "Of course she did. That girl never changes... I'll speak to her too. We can't have an entire group of cadets pilot exactly like Asuka does, as good as she is. They need more than that... although they can't exactly pilot like Mari does either..."

Ritsuko laughed, "If it wasn't for the situation you and Shinji were in I actually think they might be better off learning from the two of you."

"I apologize, I did not intend to make things inconvenient for you."

"Not at all, just some things to think about. You should return to your cell and wait for Mari anyway. Go and have a good time."

Rei stood up and quietly turned to leave, "Thank you Doctor Akagi."

Rei left the room and Ritsuko turned once more to her coffee.

_‘Rei is starting to change already. Her humanity is starting to slowly come through, forming an attraction to another person and strengthening her bonds with the Second and Third child. This was not a part of your plan for her was it Gendo? You never wanted her to go this far, you had your plan for her and Shinji but her getting close to others… you never wanted that. That’s why Asuka is the way she is, that’s why you had me give Rei those drugs… well let’s see how things go now.’_

XXX

Shinji's hands wrapped around the cup in an attempt to warm them. When Asuka told him it was going to be cold she wasn't wrong at all. He peered out of the window of the small but busy café as he waited for Asuka to come back from ordering food. It had been decided that due to Shinji's status that Asuka handled talking to or interacting with anyone today just in case someone managed to recognize him.

He looked across the road towards a small building that had a man dressed in some sort of Victorian Policeman’s Uniform stood outside of it. Next to him was a queue of people waiting there turn to go inside. He couldn't quite make out the sign so he wasn't quite sure what it was but it intrigued him as to why people were queuing up to what appeared to be quite an unassuming building and why there was someone dressed in a costume outside of it. He supposed that this was one of the tourist attractions that had been rebuilt that Asuka had mentioned.

"Food should be here shortly, for the amount it cost me it should be." He heard Asuka say as she sat down and removed her coat.

Shinji smiled apologetically, "Sorry..."

"No it's fine. Old London was expensive and they kept that tradition up in Neo-London too. At least we don't have to wait in the queues like those people out there. I'm sure some of the people who were at the back of the queue for that big wheel are still waiting now." Asuka laughed as she spoke.

"Is it really alright for us to do that? I feel a little bit bad about jumping the queue like that, I mean those people looked mad."

"Eh, let them look mad. I saved the world the other day. Least that I deserve is to take my boyfriend on a giant Ferris wheel and not have to wait in a queue for it."

Shinji couldn’t help but feel himself blush as she spoke. That had been the first time that she had referred to him as her boyfriend. He had been wondering just what the exact nature of their relationship was recently. They had spent nights holding one another, they kissed each other when Asuka left to do what she needed to do and returned home. They had been intimate with one another but they had never really discussed it.

“Your… boyfriend… I didn’t know you…”

“Thought of you in that way? Are you stupid? Of course I did!”

“No! It’s just… we never really spoke about it, things just kinda… happened I suppose.”

“I didn’t think we had to, considering what happened in that tent I thought it’d be obvious. I don’t just invite anyone to live with me you know.”

Shinji smiled, “I guess… sorry, I’m… not very good at things like that.”

“It’s fine, it’s just stupid Shinji being stupid Shinji right?”

He nodded, “Yup!”

“So are you enjoying today anyway?” Asked Asuka.

“Yeah, it’s really nice. The city looked really pretty from the top of that wheel too… almost… as pretty as you…”

Asuka paused with her cup of hot chocolate raised to her mouth. She stared at him blankly for a moment before slowly setting it down with a grin, “I can’t believe you actually just said that!”

“W-What? What’s wrong with what I said?”

“It’s just so cheesy, it’s like a line from some romance novel…”

“S-Sorry… I just…”

“No! Don’t apologize, please do tell me more about how pretty I am.”

The blush on Shinji’s cheeks was intensifying as he felt himself retreat into his scarf, “You’re… well you’re beautiful Asuka. I’ve… always thought that.”

Asuka was a little bit lost for words with his admission and now it was her turn to blush. She sipped from her cup and gazed out the window at the queue for the museum, “Always… thought that huh?”

“Y-Yeah…”

“You know something Shinji… it’s been a real long time since I’ve been able to act or feel like this.”

“What do you mean?”

Asuka kept her gazed fixed on the queue. A few people she recognized from the crew of the Wunder, the other tourists she had no idea about. There seemed to be a mixture of cultures and people wanting to go inside.

“Human… like a real person I suppose. For the past fourteen years I’ve been living in this world I’ve always felt disconnected in some way. I’ve visited these places before and a number of others and it always felt like something was missing. Over the years people would try to reach out to me and… cheer me up I guess. They’d offer me whatever I wanted or needed and none of it felt right.”

Shinji said nothing but instead let her continue, “At first it was dealing with my eye being gone. Suddenly going blind in one eye wasn’t exactly part of my plan but then they told me that I had lost it because of an Angel infecting my body. They said everything in gone now but I… it took getting used to. The idea that something had been inside my body, infected me like some gross parasite disgusted me.”

“That… I can’t imagine what that must have been like Asuka…”

“Then there was seeing how the world had changed. Hearing about the wars that had broken out, the cities that had been destroyed and the countries that had been buried or no longer existed. When I woke up from my coma I was… not in a good state for some time. I didn’t see a lot of it happen but I learned about it afterwards…”

She sighed, “I tried to go back to how I used to be. Stay disconnected from people and pretend I didn’t need them. I had thought before that activation test that maybe it wasn’t so bad to try to reach out to people but maybe it just wasn’t for me. After all I’d only end up being hurt if I let someone in right? You know what feeling don’t you?”

Shinji nodded, “Yeah… I guess I do.”

“Yet obviously I couldn’t do that because at the forefront of my mind was getting you back… I had to be the person to do it, no one else was going to…”

“Asuka I…”

“Just let me finish. This will probably be the only time you hear me talk like this so just let me…. We tried really hard to get you back Shinji. Misato and Ritsuko… they spent ages on coming up with a plan. They did everything and it was going to work. I was going to be the one to execute it. We had everything we needed in place, all the necessary components. I got that Entry Plug and then they opened it and…”

She took a sip from her cup and visibly shuddered, “It wasn’t pleasant… that’s all you need to know Shinji. A few years passed and we were somehow able to give it another go. That attempt near destroyed us. It’s stupid but a part of me wished it had of done, maybe then it would have ended whatever pain we were going through.”

Shinji decided it’d be best to not ask about the details of what happened.

“After that attempt things changed. Misato changed… and WILLEs mission to take out NERV was put into full effect. We were going to destroy NERV. They… gave up on getting you back and instead we turned to revenge but called it eliminating the threat to the world. We never thought we’d get you back.”

“So when you recovered Unit 01 you weren’t…”

Asuka shook her head, “Expecting to find you? Misato and the others certainly weren’t but me… I don’t know why but I just had this feeling on that day. That’s why I yelled for you to help me and somehow you… you heard me. You came back.”

“I thought you hated me at first…”

“I hated everything Shinji. When I saw you again for the first time and I had that confirmation it scared me, so I reacted angrily… of course when I think about it you did deserve it. Being gone for all those years and vanishing in that way.”

“Sorry…”

“It’s fine… I guess. I suppose the point is that it’s nice to feel… a bit more normal and act it again. I don’t have to be a pilot or captain Shikinami today. I’m just… Asuka… it’s like the time we all went to that Marine Centre. I can just… enjoy myself.”

Shinji smiled remembering that trip fondly himself. It was the last time they were all together properly, although from what he recalled he didn’t remember Asuka’ having a great time.

“I liked that too but I always thought you hated it?”

Asuka set her cup down, “What gave you that idea?”

“You said it was dumb and you spent the day looking at your Wonderswan.” He replied bluntly.

“Eh, well the thing it I...” Asuka wasn’t quite sure she knew how to phrase the reason for her perceived anger on that that. She didn’t quite know how to turn around to Shinji and say the reason for her annoyance was because she would rather it have been just her and him. Thankfully just as that moment the waitress arrived to set their food down on the table.

“Oh look at that. Food looks great doesn’t it Shinji? I think we should probably go to the museum over there next? What do you think Shinji?”

XXX

Rei stared up towards the ceiling of the building feeling somewhat overwhelmed by this place. It was busier than she was used to, and whilst she knew that no one here knew who she was again having to get used to the strange stares from people who walked past. Those strange stares were something that she had grown accustomed to from her time in Tokyo-3. After all not many people had witnessed a pale skinned, blue haired girl and bright red eyes before.

There was a strange mixture of smells in the air from the food that was being prepared nearby. Some of them were pleasant, some of which not so much. Rei watched as people queued up, handed over money and left with trays of food and drinks before going down a corridor towards one of the other rooms.

Rei smiled when she finally saw a glimpse of the brunette through the crowd. Finally Mari made her way back to her, clutching two cartons filled with some sort of food as well as two cups.

"There ya go blue. I went with the sweet option for you."

Rei nodded and took the cartoon from Mari. She was also handed one of the drinks before Mari looked across at the board.

"So are you sure you don't mind me picking the film?"

Rei shook her head, "I don't mind. Can I ask something... what exactly is this?"

Rei motioned her head towards the carton of popcorn.

"Ah... You've not had it before?"

"No, I have not been to a place like this before either."

"No cinema trips either? Damn, Gendo has a lot to answer for." Mari frowned, "Well that's popcorn! You're supposed to eat it whilst you watch the movie although most people just eat a quarter of it and get fed up with it during the trailers and forget about it."

"Is that not wasteful?"

Mari shrugged, "I guess so, especially considering how much it costs."

"I see."

Mari smiled as she looked at Rei.

_'I need to be careful, she looks so overwhelmed by all of this but at the same time she is so damn cute as well. Gotta make sure she has a good time too, after all what sort of date would this be if she wasn't enjoying herself too?'_

Mari suppressed a chuckle at the idea of this being a date. Her job was supposed to be to supervise Rei and show her around the city. That had proven to be a little bit difficult at first with Rei not really having a good grasp of what to do. She couldn't really blame Rei, from what she knew of Rei's upbringing the girl had had nothing of an upbringing. She hadn't been to parks when she was younger, or had toys or played with others. It was only when Shinji had come into the picture had things started to develop for her socially and even that was monitored.

_'Poor girl... you read stories about androids or robots that want to become human and here you have a human that was forced to be like an android. Well let’s get you out of that shell.'_

Mari grinned and without any warning linked her arm with Rei's and started to lead her into the corridor towards one of the screening rooms.

XXX

Shinji could feel the stares of the group upon him as he stood around waiting for Asuka to return from the bathroom. He glanced down towards the ground wondering why they kept on looking across at him. He wondered if maybe they were looking at him because he was stood outside of a girl’s bathroom but then, he was waiting for someone and he was sure they had seen him with her when she went in.

Feeling a little bit self conscious he took a few steps forward distancing himself and trying to get away from their stares.

_'Maybe I'm just being paranoid, why would they be looking at me? They don’t know who I am and it's not like I'm doing anything to draw attention to myself, I'm probably just imagining it.'_

As soon as Shinji stepped forward one of the members of the group also got up and started to make their way towards him. As this man got closer Shinji could make out a WILLE emblem on his jacket as well as the text 'AAA Wunder' underneath it.

"You're him aren't you?"

Shinji pretended he hadn't heard the man and instead stared intensely at the ground.

"Hey don't ignore me, you're him aren't you? Shinji Ikari?"

Shinji finally looked up to see the man staring down at him. His heart suddenly picking up in speed at the sound of hearing his name be called like that. Shinji remembered just what Asuka had told him earlier though, "N-No... my name is Soryu"

Shinji stammered out the words hoping that the man would believe him and just go away. He hoped that his nervousness wouldn't show through, of course anyone would be nervous in this situation.

"Liar. I saw you on the ship, I know it's you Ikari."

Without any warning the man suddenly reached out to grab at Shinji's scarf. Shinji immediately tried to hold onto it but the grip of the other man was too much for him to content with and the fabric was pulled away from his neck exposing the DSS Collar for both him and his friends to see.

"I knew it..." He turned towards his friends, "Hey guys, it is him."

Shinji looked across at the door to the bathroom hoping that Asuka would return soon. His attention was quickly brought back to the man when he felt a hand shove him forcefully against the wall. Pain shot through the back of his head as it hit the wall.

“Look at me. We know who you are and what you did. You be under the protection of Katsuragi and that bitch of a pilot when on the Wunder but here… you’ve got no one.”

“He has me actually.”

Shinji had never been happier to hear Asukas’ voice before now.

“Let him go, now.” She commanded. Unfortunately for Shinji the man’s grip on him just intensified holding him in place.

“No.”

As Asuka stepped forward two of the guy’s friends, a man and a woman quickly moved to block her. Asuka snarled at the two of them, “Release him.”

“Or else what? You have no power here Shikinami besides he’s only getting what’s coming to him. After what he did… it’s the least he deserves.”

“Asuka!”

Shinji tried to push himself forward, he broke free for a moment but was very quickly shove back up against the wall. This was quickly followed by the man’s knee bringing itself up into Shinjis stomach. Shinji felt the pain surge through his body as he dropped down onto one knee.

“I didn’t… I didn’t mean to do anything…”

“What was that boy? Did you say something?”

Shinji felt a sudden thumb as a fist was brought down on the right side of his face. He screamed out in pain as he tumbled to the ground.

“SHINJI!” He could hear Asuka scream out, “STOP THIS NOW YOU BASTARDS!”

Tears formed in his eyes from the pain as he slowly tried to pull himself to his feet. He wondered for a moment if maybe he should stay down. Through his blurred vision he could see Asuka struggling to break free of the grasp of the others. Her yelling echoing through the room.

“I’ll make each and every one of you regret this!”

“No you won’t, see I’ve been waiting a long time for this. To meet the person who fucked up this world and see that he’s punished for his crime. Do you know how much I lost back then?”

Shinji was still struggling to his knees when he was picked up by the scruff of his neck. He was asked the question again, “Well do you?”

“It wasn’t… my fault…”

It only seemed to anger the man more as Shinji was once again thrown to the ground. His wrist snapping back as he put out his hands to catch his fall. This was immediately followed by a swift kick to his ribs.

“I had a sister, I had a family you piece of shit. All of them gone now because of you! The crew of this ship, all of these people… they had families too and we lost it all because of you!”

“I never… I didn’t…”

“And now you think you’re protected by Katsuragi and that bitch? We’re going to show you just how protected you ar-“

There was a strange choking sound as the man suddenly stopped speaking. Shinji kept his eyes focused on the ground waiting for another kick but it never came. Instead what he did hear caused his eyes to widen with shock. There was a soft thud as he heard a body slump to the ground.

“What the hell is going on here?” The voice was a snarl, full of anger the likes of which Shinji had never heard before from its source. He slowly turned his head to see the shape of Misato Katsuragi stood in the entrance to the corridor, she was holding out a gun and flanked by four security guards.

She seemed to motion towards them, “Pick him up and get the rest of them directly to the brig. I’ll deal with them later.”

Shinji remained in place as one of the larger guards moved along and picked up Shinji’s attack from the ground with what looked like barely any effort at all. The others in his group quietly and awkwardly made their way out of the corridor escorted by the other guards. Misato remained in place, her gaze shifting from Shinji to Asuka.

“What happened?”

Asuka adjusted her coat furiously, “Idiots must have followed us, waited for a chance to do this. Attacked Shinji whilst I was in the bathroom.”

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, prides more wounded than anything else.” Asuka replied bluntly, “Him on the other hand.”

Misato took a few steps forwards Shinji and knelt down. Shinji did what he could to avoid making eye contact. As he looked down at the ground he could see a few drops of blood from his nose.

“Can you walk?”

Shinji nodded, “I-I think so…”

Shinji started to try to prop himself up but the pain in his wrist from where he had fallen quickly put an end to that. Both Misato and Asuka quickly moved over to him, each putting a hand on his should and helping him up to his feet. Tears were streaming down his face as he finally stood upright again.

“I-I’m sorry…”

“Shut up, you have nothing to be sorry for.”

“If I wasn’t… they wouldn’t have…”

“You’re wrong Shinji. This is my fault.” Misato cut him off sharply.

“I allowed this to happen and I will deal with it. Asuka can I trust you to take him to the medical bay? Have Sakura take a look at him.”

Asuka nodded, “Yes.”

“Good.”

Shinji watched as Misato started to walk away from the pair of them and down the corridor. It was then he realized that he didn’t feel sick or scared of her presence. He didn’t know why but he called out to her, “M-Misato…”

For a moment it didn’t look like she was going to stop but just as she reached reaching the door she did.

“T-Thank you.”

Misato did not turn around but her posture did seem to stiffen somewhat. Shinji could see her head turn ever so slightly.

“Look after him Asuka.” With those words she opened the door and left the two of them alone.


	8. Reunions

_‘I couldn’t do anything… all I was able to do was watch as they did that to him whilst they held me back. I couldn’t fight back… I’m not capable of protecting him… I’m not capable of doing anything by myself am I? I had to rely on Misato coming to save him…’_

Asuka gripped the sides of the sink tightly as she stared at herself in the mirror. She suppressed the urge to slam her fist into the mirrors reflection. Instead the pushed downwards onto the sink hoping that maybe it would break. It of course, perhaps fortunately for her, didn’t and all she was left to do was scowl at her own angered reflection.

_‘Why can’t I do anything? Every time I just freeze up and can’t do anything unless there is someone else there. What am I doing wrong, I wasn’t supposed to need anyone or anything so why do I have to rely on them so much. What the hell is wrong with me?’_

“You know Princess, I don’t think you’re gonna win this one. No matter how much you try it’s always going to be there.”

Asuka slowly turned her head to see that Mari was stood in the doorway to the bathroom, a Cheshire cat-like grin on her face.

“Fuck off four eyes, like I asked for or even need to hear your opinion.” Asuka snarled back at the brunette.

“Ooh someone’s upset, so what is it? Problems with the puppy?”

Asuka turned to face her, “Nothing is wrong, just go away and leave me alone.”

Mari did not go away much to Asuka’s chagrin, instead she took a step forward and the grin was dropped from her face and replaced by a fierce stare. Asuka narrowed her gaze as Mari spoke, “Asuka… you know how this goes. I know you and I know just when something is bothering you and you also know me. I’m not going to let you out of here until you tell me what’s wrong.”

“Get out of my way Mari.”

“Make me.”

“This is ridiculous.”

Mari’s lips curled upwards into a smile for a moment, “It’s only ridiculous because you know you can’t make me.”

“This is an order Mari.”

“I don’t think so, we’re off duty under Misato’s orders. She out ranks you and if we’re off duty that means you can’t give orders.”

“Leave me alone Mari.”

“No!”

“You don’t understand this isn’t something you can understand.”

“Then tell me so I can help you.”

“NO!”

“The puppy got hurt didn’t he? Misato had to help because you couldn’t? Is that it?”

“I’m warning you Mari.”

“Ego got bruised, Pride wounded? Is that it?”

“So what if it was.”

“Fuck your ego Asuka! The person you love could have been killed and you’re in here worried about being yourself.”

Asuka widened her gaze and took a step backwards nearly stumbling over the sink she was at. She had never seen Mari blow up like that before.

“He needs you Asuka.”

“I…”

“So what you have one bad moment in front of him and run away? Is that it? You’ve had bad moments before Asuka, we’ve won and lost battles together for fourteen years.”

“It’s not… like that… He… I wasn’t able to do anything… while he was attacked all I could do was watch it happen.”

“You’re an idiot Asuka. How many were there?”

Asuka lowered her gaze to the floor and muttered something under her breath, Mari asked the question again, “How many Asuka?”

“Six… There were six of them.”

“So what you were going to take out all six of them on your own? Even Misato had four armed guards with her when she arrived.”

“Whatever…”

“Look Princess, I know how much it means for you to be his big protector and keep him safe. To keep him all wrapped up in your arms, all snuggled together warm and safe, stealing kisses from one another and innocently touching each oth-“

“Mari!”

“Sorry… mind wanders, you know how it is?”

“Pervert.”

“Hey at least I can admit it!”

“Whatever, what’s your point?”

“Point is Princess that you can’t protect the puppy forever or how you’d like to. You can be there for him all the time and this world is hard. He’s going to get hurt. That should never have happened to him but it wasn’t your fault and there was nothing you could have done about it then. There is something you can do now though, he needs you Asuka.”

Asuka sighed as she slowly looked up to meet Mari’s eyes and her outstretched hand. Finally she smiled and took hold of Mari’s hand pulling herself forward.

“Now come on, there is a puppy in need of some serious snuggling.”

“Fine… I guess I can do that.”

“Oh and hey, if you’re not up to it or if he needs a bit more I can always-“

“Mari!”

XXX

“I’m really sorry for causing you any trouble Sakura.” Said Shinji with a grimace as Sakura continued to clean the wound on the side of his face. She said nothing as she continued her work. Rei was also stood near to him, her hand gently resting on his.

Finally Sakura was finished and took a step back, “You have nothing to be sorry for Shinji. We should be the ones apologizing to you, we didn’t do enough to protect you while you were out there.”

“Miss Suzahara is correct.”

“Miss Suzahara? Please call me Sakura!”

Rei nodded as Shinji looked up at her, “I know that really but… I just feel like I’m a burden to you all. This was supposed to have been a nice day after everything that happened and now I’ve… ruined it by getting hurt like this.”

“No!” Sakura frowned, “They ruined it by being bullies and attacking you like that! There was no need for what they did, people have their grievances but it should not… it shouldn’t get that far…”

“Do you know why they attacked you?” Rei asked.

With a nod Shinji replied, “They… well the man who did this… he said he wanted to give me what was coming to me. He blamed me for what happened and said I was responsible for people he knew being hurt or killed… that he wanted to see me punished…”

Sakura gasped, “That’s horrible!”

Shinji felt his hand that wasn’t being held by Reis clench itself into a fist and slowly unclench, a habit he had developed over time. He gave a sad smile, “I know people here… I know how they feel about me. I can’t blame them for hating me… I know what my actions led to so maybe I do deserv-“

“Stop it Shinji! You didn’t deserve that.”

He felt Rei’s hand squeeze his tightly, “Sakura is correct Shinji. You had no way of knowing back then what your actions would lead to.”

“I was reckless though, I should have stopped to think.”

“About what? You did not know what Unit 01 was capable of, there was no one who knew about its capabilities except for the people responsible for its construction.”

“You mean my father.”

“Yes.”

Shinji had given his father a lot of thought since he had returned both before and after he had seen him again in NERV. He could remember just how his father had looked when he had been asked to pilot Unit 13 alongside Kaworu. He could remember finding it strange that he now seemed to wear that strange visor that completely covered his eyes seemingly erasing what little humanity there was left of him. He could remember just how cold and distant his father’s words had been and yet Shinji had hoped, in vain, that maybe there was something there.

“When father asked me to pilot Unit 13 again I though… I thought I was being helpful. I just wanted to be useful and needed and I thought father needed me. Kaworu… I thought he needed me, he said that we could change the world back to how it was and I believed it.”

“You were not to know.”

“I don’t know if Kaworu was lying to me or not. I don’t think he was, he cared for me and was my friend but then… father had lied to him as well. Only when Kaworu realized he had been lied to he tried to stop me but I wouldn’t listen… I didn’t believe that it could have happened so I kept going and Kaworu died because of me.”

Shinji gave a half-hearted laugh, “My father… he did it again didn’t he. He manipulated me, he used Kaworu to trick me and he knew exactly how I’d act. He made it so that Kaworu would die but why?”

“Kaworu Nagisa was an Angel.” Said Rei softly.

“Kaworu Nagisa was my friend Rei, he didn’t have to die. My father made sure he was killed, Kaworu said as much himself. He fooled Kaworu into thinking he was helping and then Kaworu took that collar off of me. It’s all his fault.”

Shinji glanced up at Rei, “You too Rei, he kept you there and made you think others were the enemy. He used you to attack people and hurt them.”

Rei nodded, “I know he did and it is my wish that I can make things right with them. I am no longer a puppet of your fathers, I am no longer here to be used by him but I am… frightened of him. I fear that he might still be able to put me back to how I was.”

“He won’t do that… I’ll… well” Shinji gave a hopeful look towards Sakura, “Well… these people will make sure that doesn’t happen. Right?”

Sakura nodded, “Exactly. You’re safe here Rei as are you Shinji, events of today excluded. I’ve done what I can for you anyway, good news is you look worse than you’ll feel. There is a little bit of bruising to your ribs and to you wrist from when you fell. They’ll both take a couple of days to heal up, the cuts on your face might take a few more.”

“Thank you… If Misato hadn’t arrived when she did then…” Shinji shuddered visibly at the thought of what might have happened if it were not for Misato’s intervention.

Sensing his discomfort Sakura set to put his mind at ease and smiled, “It’s not worth thinking about Shinji. The Captain did what had to be done and those people will be dealt with.”

“What will happen to them?” Shinji asked curiously.

“Eh, not too sure. The Captain has them in the brig right not but from what I understand there are some issues with the Neo-London authorities over who has the right to deal with them. They’re saying that because they were off-duty and it happened on Neo-London soil it’s up to them but the Captain says that because it’s her crew than it is her responsibility to deal with.”

“I see.”

“But you shouldn’t worry about any of that, let them deal with it. You need rest.”

XXX

News of what had happened to Shinji had spread like wildfire to all members of the Wunders’ crew. Whilst there had been a hope that first that any news relating to the event had been suppressed it was not to be. The fact that he had even left the ship with Asuka was not supposed to have been known. That was why she had given him a false name and went out at a time separate to other members of the crew.

Whilst there was going to be an investigation into how that particular group learned of Shinji being within the city little could now be done about people discussing it after the event. Members of the Wunders’ crew spent the evening discussing the events as if it was something from a film they had just watched. They debated with one another over whether or not they felt that Shinji deserved it, whether or not he should have been allowed off the ship, what would happen to the people responsible and what would happen to Shinji afterwards.

“It was to be expected! He should have been confined to quarters like they said he was. Personally I think we’re being too lenient with him, especially after what he caused.” Said Nagara as she set down her coffee.

“I agree. I don’t know what they were thinking letting him off of the ship like that. I thought he was supposed to have been a prisoner! We’re treating him like some civilian we picked up.” Replied Kitakami.

Nagara shrugged in response, “He’s supposed to be but Shikinami is the one responsible for him and you know how things are with her. What she wants she gets right? Hey and Makinami have always gotten special attention. I don’t know why he’s still here anyway and I don’t feel safe with him around.”

“Neither do me.” Agreed Tama, “He’s just going to attract more trouble. Our job is dangerous enough without having the kid who caused Third Impact around!”

Takao, who up until now had remained out of the conversation instead opting to listening to his younger comrades’ debate the situation rose from his seat. He cast a glance at the Tama and corrected the young man, “Near-Third Impact.”

“Does it matter? Near, Actual? The kid was responsible for it regardless.” Shot back Tama.

“And you… all three of you actually believe that?”

Nagara rolled her eyes and picked up her coffee cup again, “And you don’t? We’ve all seen the same footage, we know he triggered it.”

Takao looked at her, “What we know is that Unit 01 triggered it and then all traces of him were then gone. He vanished and left us without any answers. He was blamed because it was the convenient thing to do.”

“He was blamed because he was the one inside Unit 01 at the time and caused it to do what it did! It isn’t convenience it’s the truth!” Tama injected again.

“But his intentions…”

“Intentions are beside the point, it happened and he caused it!”

“Intentions are not beside the point. Do you think if he was really capable of doing that consciously? You’ve seen him when he was on our bridge, he was terrified and had no idea of what had happened. He was shocked to see the state of the outside world, do you really think he could have done that intentionally?”

“Look old man, doesn’t matter if he was conscious of it or not. Maybe he does regret what he did but he did it and it led to what we have now, people are angry and I can understand that.”

“So you’re justifying what happened to him?” Takao fixed the young engineer with a fierce glare.

“N-No not at all! I can just understand the anger! That’s all.”

“I still say that he shouldn’t have been out there but Takao is right, that shouldn’t have happened to him. We’re supposed to be the future for humanity, makes us look like nothing better than a bunch of thugs.” Piped up Kitakami.

“Alright fine, he didn’t deserve it but I still think he should never have been out and we shouldn’t have him on board. If we keep him isn’t it just going to happen again?”

 “I doubt that, Katsuragi is going to make an example of those guys and ensure it never happens again. Heard that you really don’t want to make her angry.”

“Let me guess, another thing from Kaji?”

Takao sighed, “Yes from Kaji, and I’ll tell you something else I learned from Kaji.”

“Give it a rest old man, everyone knows what Kaji is li-.”

“Shut up and let him speak Tama.” Nagara slapped the engineer around the back of the head silencing him.

“Thank you Tama. Look feelings on the guy aside he’s been around for a long time. He was there before the Near Third and he told me that when it happened he was investigating NERV and Gendo Ikari. This was months before he was actually declared public enemy number one. Kaji thought he was getting close to something and barely any time later… bang, the world is plunged into chaos.”

“So what?”

“Well think about it for a second, Gendo Ikari feels the net tightening on him and suddenly the world is plunged into what we have now. Instead of investigating Gendo the focus shifted to rebuilding this world and finding out what the hell caused the Near-Third. NERVs official statement was a malfunctioning Evangelion Unit caused it due to the actions of the pilot on board. An agency that is normally incredibly secretive about its public relations said that.”

“I never heard anything like that!”

“Well you wouldn’t, you were too young but it was there. Suddenly the world knew about the Eva’s and not only that they had a person to blame. Shortly afterwards Gendo Ikari vanished from the public view and was declared an enemy of the world.”

“So what?”

“So Kaji believes that Shinji was just used to get the focus off of Gendo. He sacrificed his own son so that he could disappear. He doesn’t know how yet and no one has been able to find anything to prove otherwise. There was an official report but… it was compiled so quickly and in all the chaos no one thought to question it. It concluded that the machine malfunctioned because of the pilots actions and it was case closed because as far as they knew Shinji Ikari was dead.”

“And Kaji questioned this? Add to which how long have you known about this?”

Takao shrugged, “A while and yes he questioned it.”

He paused for a moment, “If Shinji was dead it wouldn’t matter would it? Except as you said… he isn’t dead and I think the truth deserves to come out.”

XXX

Shinji and Rei gave each other a look of confusion before straining their ears to try to make sense of the loud noises that were coming from outside the medical bay door. There were two voices, each of them raised. One seemed to be quite angry and the other seemed to be a lot calmer and from what Shinji could tell belonged to Mari.

"Just put it on will you!" Mari shouted.

Shinji listened out for a reply from the other person and frowned. Mari was commanding someone to wear something. Shinji still did not yet understand Mari and he expected he never would. He had learned a little about her the other night. Learned that she had something of a tragic past too but she seemed different than they did. She didn't seem to have any regard for personal space, she wasn't afraid to hug them and snuggle into them and she always seemed to be trying to make a joke or lighten the mood.

She also seemed to, in contrast to the others, really like the smell of LCL. Which considering the smell of it being similar to that of blood made her seem quite strange. Especially to Shinji who had nearly been sick the first time he had been enveloped in the stuff.

He couldn't quite decide if this request from Mari was strange or not considering it was her. Listening out the two of them heard Mari again.

"I won't let you in there until you do!"

Finally the other person replied and Shinji could finally hear who it was. It was Asuka and she seemed to be very angry. This only added to his confusion, what was Mari trying to get Asuka to do that'd make her angry.

It did however answer his question about where Asuka was. After he had been brought back onboard the Wunder and taken to the medical bay Asuka had apologized to him and then suddenly vanished. Shinji had wanted to go after her but he had to be treated first and wasn't allowed out of the Medical Bay afterwards.

"No! This is ridiculous!"

"How can it be ridiculous? You bought them didn't you?"

"Well yeah! But they... aren't for here or something like this!"

"Oh not for here? What were they for Princess... some sort of kinky cosplay with the puppy?"

Shinji felt Rei's eyes on him at the statement and in return felt himself glow a deep shade of red. He had no idea what Mari was talking about but discussions of his and Asuka's relationship always made him feel uncomfortable.

"Shinji, what does Mari mean when she says..."

Shinji cut her off very quickly, not wishing to have this conversation, "I don't know!"

"No it is not you pervert!" Asuka yelled in reply.

"Aw that's a shame."

Shinji breathed a sigh of relief as the door slid open. He was sure he could hear a low growl from Asuka before Maris' voice was heard once again.

"See Princess! He'll love it and you look adorable!"

"This is so embarrassing..."

The door slowly slid open as Mari marched her way into the center of the room with a big grin on her face. She positioned herself between the door and where Shinji and Rei were stood and held out an arm towards the door.

"Presenting to you both, the world's one and only consulting Evangelion Pilot, Asuka Shikinami!" Maris' voice boomed.

Shinji and Rei shot each other another confused glance as nothing happened. This prompted Mari to give a short cough, "Ahem! The world's one and only consulting Evangelion pilot!"

"Oh shut up four-eyes! I'm coming!"

There was another pause before Asuka finally emerged in the entrance to the door. Her gaze was fixed firmly to the ground as she slowly slunk into the door. She got halfway in before Mari grabbed her arm forcefully and pushed her forward. Shinji could immediately see the source of Asukas' embarassment and the source of Mari's amusement.

Asuka was not dressed the same as she had been when he had last seen her. She was still wearing the jeans and jacket she had on earlier but over the top of the jacket was a black cape like item that fell from her shoulders down to her waist. Atop her head was a black hat that Shinji recognized as a deerstalker. He had seen both these items of clothing in the shop for the museum they went to earlier.

As he looked up at Rei he could see a genuine look of amusement had spread across her face. It was the first time he had ever seen Rei laugh. He was trying hard to keep his own laughter in and seeing Rei on the verge was not helping matters.

Asuka's head snapped up and Shinji felt himself flinch in response. She turned and glared at Mari, "I knew this'd be ridiculous! Even Wondergirl is laughing!"

"Exactly! You've cheered them up! Isn't that what you wanted to do?"

"Yes but not by dressing like an idiot!"

"Oh stop moaning. Anyway I'm going to leave you two lovers alone, Rei would you like to come and get dinner with me?"

Rei nodded in response unable to get a world out for laughing. Mari very quickly rushed forward and yanked at Rei's arm pulling her away from Shinji and towards the medical bay door.

"Bye guys! Go easy on these beds will ya, other people need them."

"MARI!" Asuka yelled as the Brunette winked and exited the room. When the focus of her anger had vanished Asuka slowly turned her head towards Shinji. Shinji at this point having his hand up covering his mouth, his shoulders shaking from laughter.

"What... is so funny brat?"

Asuka hoped that make a stern glare from her and raising her voice might have shut him up. Unfortunately it didn’t as he kept laughing.

“N-Nothing… It’s just… you…”

“Look stupid? Ridiculous? Go on, laugh it up Third.”

“No! You don’t look stupid. It’s kinda cute.”

“Urgh… don’t let Mari hear that. She’ll think we’re definitely going to use this for the wrong reasons.”

“Why did she make you dress like that anyway?”

Asuka let out a long sigh and sat herself down next to Shinji, “It was my fault. I might have said I wasn’t sure what I could do to cheer you up. She saw the stuff I bought and had the bright idea to dress me up like this. God knows why, I don’t know what goes through that girls mind. I guess it worked though, you seem happier.”

Shinji nodded, “Yeah… I am.”

“Good. I’m not going to make a habit of dressing up in costumes whenever you’re sad.”

“How come you bought it? I didn’t think it’d be the sort of thing you’d have liked.”

Asuka shrugged, “I dunno, I kinda like it and it’s sort of iconic. Besides I like hats, you’ve already seen my cat eared one right?”

Shinji gave another nod, “Cat ears… I thought those were your clips.”

“Nope they’re supposed to be cat ears.” She paused for a moment, “I can see how you’d think that though. Anyway how are you feeling?”

“Better… Sakura and Rei might have told me off though…”

“Sakura… and Rei told you off? This I gotta hear, what for?”

“I apologized for what happened.”

“Idiot! That’s your reflexive response to everything isn’t it?”

“I guess, it just seems like I’m always causing problems for people though.”

“Well I support them telling you off and if you don’t stop I’m going to tell you off as well!”

“S-Sorry…”

Asuka shot him an icy glare, “You did that on purpose. You always do that when I tell you off for apologizing.”

“I know.”

Shinji slipped his hand into Asuka’s and looked around the medical bay. He let out a short sigh, “That… There is a chance that sort of thing could happen again isn’t there?”

Asuka looked away from him trying to think of what to say in response. She didn’t want to lie to him because the truth was that it could happen again. Yet she didn’t want to frighten him either.

“It’s alright, you don’t have to say anything. I know it might happen and…”

“No. It won’t happen again Shinji.”

“But Asuka people here hate me, I know you said it wasn’t all my fault but they don’t think tha-“

Asuka silenced him by bringing her finger up to his lips, “Just shut up will you.”

She kept her finger in place and used her other hand to remove the deerstalker. She took in a deep breath before starting to speak, “I’m sorry I ran off when we got here. I just… I wasn’t able to protect you…”

“But there were a number of them you couldn’t…”

“I know that idiot. Four-Eyes made sure that I know that but I still feel like shit don’t I? I promised that I’d help you out when we got here and watch out for you. I wasn’t able to do that and you got hurt. I promise you Shinji… that will not happen again.”

She brought her finger away from his lips and leaned in towards him as he whispered to her, “Asuka…”

Her hand made its way around to the back of his head, stroking his hair softly. Shinji mimicked the motion running his hand through her soft red hair. Finally their lips met and for that moment all the events of the day fell away from them and all that mattered was the two of them.

XXX

Ritsuko glanced at the document and then back towards Misato, "So they want us to hand the perpetrators over them and deal with it themselves?"

Misato frowned, "Of course they do. Barclay will want to make a big deal of it to get at us as well. WILLE soldiers caught in six on one attack on the peaceful streets of Neo-London. Not only that but they get to put in the fact that the victim was none other than Shinji Ikari. Before we know it they'll be calling for our budget to be cut, our mission to be scaled back and more resources put into what he wants."

"His exact speech will be 'I told you so'"

"Exactly. It's all my fault as well, I should never have let Shinji out with Asuka. I should have kept him here on the ship, I've been too lenient with him."

Ritsuko paused for a moment and sipped her tea, "We couldn't foresee this happening. No one except for Asuka, Rei, Mari and ourselves knew that he was out there. The person on their end was sworn to secrecy as well..."

Misato knew that Ritsuko was correct but it didn't improve her mood. Something didn't sit right with her regarding this incident. They had taken precautions to let Shinji out and ensured that no one else knew about it except for a select few. Whilst it was possible that these people had spotted them by coincidence it didn't seem likely. Neo-London was a big place and going from the footage Misato had seen as soon as this particular group were let off of the ship they had gone directly to where Asuka and Shinji were and followed them for a time.

"How did they find them?"

"We're investigating. They don't seem to have interacted with anyone who had knowledge of them or their wherabouts so it is proving difficult. When speaking to them they insist it was coincidence."

"I don't buy that for a second."

"Neither do I but there is little we can do in the absence of proof. There is however a matter I wished to discuss with you."

"More bad news?"

"I'm not sure yet. It might not mean anything but we detected this during the incident."

Ritsuko handed over a small tablet to Misato. On its screen was a graph, time was along one side and along the other was the text '777 contamination levels.' Misato did not show it but she felt her heart begin to race when she observed the spike in the, until that moment, straight line.

"Asuka?"

Ritsuko nodded, "Around the time the incident took place. There is a sensor in her patch that feeds back to us to monitor the contamination. It's spiked a couple of times before as you already know. We saw it when she activated the Unit 02 'Beast' mode but this is a higher spike."

"It is a risk?"

"Possibly but we don't know enough yet. It might just be that the sudden rush of emotion she was feeling then was similar to how she felt when she had to activate the 'Beast' mode inside the Eva."

"It'd make sense, she was being held back and unable to help Shinji. She'd want to do more."

"Exactly. It's levelled out again since and doesn't look to have had any lingering side effects but I think it might be worth cancelling any tests with the Eva for a couple of days. In addition I would also like to install a failsafe inside Unit 02. If we need to it can transfer control of the Unit to Mari."

"Do what you have to."


	9. At The Very Beginning...

Just as Shinji had expected when he had went to bed that night, he awoke in a small amount of pain. There was a dull ache in his wrist that had come not only from where he had fallen on it but also from where he must have been awkwardly lying on it throughout the night. His face hurt from the repeated attacks and from lying on his side. His ribs also still hurt from a mixture of the bruising but also from the redhead that had seemingly taken advantage of a moment when he moved onto his back.

Asuka had now managed to position herself onto a mixture of her side and stomach. Her right arm draped across him and her leg interlocked with one of his. Her head resting gently on his chest.

Shinji made the attempt to shift himself ever so slightly and smiled at the sight of her as she lay sleeping on him. Whilst he couldn't see her face from this angle he could imagine how peaceful it must have looked, much like the sight of her body moving up and down ever so slightly along with her soft breathing.

Carefully he started to slowly run his hand through her hair, all the while being extra careful to not wake her up. He paused as her body twitched a little bit, her arm tightened around him and there was a small sound of satisfaction heard from her lips.

Even though his body ached the discomfort that he did feel could be ignored by being able to hold her close to him. So he kept up this motion of stroking her hair lightly and lay back wondering what today and the future would bring for him.

Yesterday had been something of a stark reminder for him of the reality that he now inhabited. He was reminded every day of just what he was to the people here, the collar around his neck saw to that but yesterday was the first time he had started to feel like a regular person again. Being out within the city, shopping and visiting landmarks was so much fun. He enjoyed holding Asuka's hand and taking in whatever he could learn.

It had taken mere minutes for all that to come crashing down. An entire days’ worth of building up and enjoyment brought down in barely any time at all. He was strangely reminded of something Fuyutsuki had said to him back when he was at NERV.

_'Destroying the world is all too easy. Rebuilding it, however, is not so simple.'_

For Shinji he realized this could apply to moments within his life. He realized that it was far easier to destroy than to build. He could remember an incident long ago from his childhood. It was after his mother had died and shortly before his father had abandoned him.

Shinji was in a park playing with other kids from the area. Together they built a sandcastle in a small pit. It was more of a pyramid but they managed to build it and it was high and stable. As the time passed the sun started to set and the parents for the children came to pick them up. Of course there was no one who would come for Shinji.

He sat alone adding sand to this pyramid padding it out and making it stronger, waiting and hoping that someone would come for him. Yet they didn't.

He could remember the anger and sadness that flowed through him as he put his foot through the structure, destroying that which had taken hours to build in an instant.

Realizing what he had done his collapsed to his knees in the pit scrabbling to put the structure back together. Still all alone.

The world right now was that sand structure. It had been changed and destroyed in barely any time at all. Yet there were people who over the years had dedicated themselves to rebuilding it. The city of Neo-London was proof of that, WILLE was proof of that and the girl lying snuggled into him was proof of that. Only the process was not a quick or easy one, much like the process wasn't quick or easy for him putting that sand structure back together.

What Shinji also realized was that despite the little glimpses he saw in this world of hope and rebuilding there were still a number of bumps along the way. Part of the process of rebuilding the world also meant people having to deal with what he started and him accepting certain realities. Such as the reality that people did genuinely hate him and wished to do him harm.

This was not an invention of his mind and it was a terrifying prospect.

He had slowly started to piece together a picture of his place in this world. He had learned quite a bit from Asuka and the others about it. He knew that he was partially to blame for the state of the world. Much like he had demolished the sand structure many years ago he had undeniably began a process of destruction with his actions inside Unit 01 on that day.

It was difficult for him to truly comprehend the scale of it. People had lost their lives as a result of his actions. Families had been torn apart, people had been hurt and injured because of one simple mistake. When Shinji was inside the Evangelion he was supposed to be helping people and saving them, not harming them.

Yet he didn't know at the time that his actions would lead to hurting people. He had no idea what Evangelion Unit 01 was truly capable of. Unlike the sand structure it was not his choice to destroy things, the destruction was merely a consequence.

_'I couldn't leave Ayanami in there though... I knew she wasn't dead and that I could save her! I had just lost Asuka because of my own inaction damnit, I couldn't sit back and let that happen to Ayanami as well!'_

Shinji tried to push the thoughts from his mind and instead went back to focusing on running his hand through Asuka's hair. His relationship with her was another example of how quick it was to destroy things. Years ago they had built up a friendship. They lived together and within minutes all those weeks and months had fallen apart because he had refused to act.

Those fourteen years must have been so hard for Asuka as well. A part of him wondered if he should be here with her at all. It was scaring him into thinking that all he would do was to cause her more pain. He had already done so much damage.

He could remember her telling him about her feelings on how she was now. Remembered how she had broken down in front of him and screamed about how she sometimes felt less than human because of that attack.

An Angel had invaded and infected her body, it was again something he couldn't comprehend. He couldn't comprehend how it would feel to lose a part of your body because of something like that or to know that the one you like, or love, could have done more to save you from making it worse.

_'Asuka wasn't contaminated because of me but... her body was damaged so much by the Dummy Plug. If I had acted I could have saved her and she wouldn't have been hurt as much. We might have been able to fight against the other Angel and save Rei.'_

"Stop that..." Came her sleepy voice.

Shinji glanced downwards and suddenly stopped moving his hand, "Huh?"

"Not that you idiot, that was nice. Stop thinking! I can tell you're thinking!"

Shinji felt himself frown, "How? I'm not saying anything."

He heard her sigh, "Your body goes all stiff and tense when you think too much. It makes you much less comfortable."

Shinji smiled, "Sorry."

He made an attempt to relax his body and also resume the stroking of his hand through her hair. In response Asuka snuggled herself further into his chest purring with satisfaction.

"It's fine I suppose. What were you thinking about anyway?"

Shinji leaned his head back and let out a sigh, "Just a lot of things I guess... and you as well...."

"Thinking about me eh? I would have thought thinking about me might have made you go stiff in other ways." Asuka said teasingly as a grin spread across her lips and her finger traced small circles on the front of Shinji's night-shirt.

"A-Asuka!" Shinji stammered feeling himself glow red. Despite their relationship Shinji had still not quite gotten used to being teased in that manner nor really discussing the acts they did together.

Asuka just sniggered at his embarrassment, "Sorry, spent too much time with Mari so her perversion is catching on. Suppose that's good news for you at least. So what exactly were you thinking about me, if it wasn't anything perverted?"

"It's just that-"

She cut him off, "Actually wait. Let me guess. You were worried about me right because of what I said yesterday? Then you started thinking, 'Oh maybe I could have done more so many years ago' in relation to how I am and your brain is in a cycle of wishing you could have done more and all these what-ifs?"

He nodded, "Yeah... that's pretty much it."

"You're so predictable but it is sweet that you care. You don't have to worry about me though alright, I know I might have said some things but I'm alright. Yeah I have... moments I suppose but I'm fine really."

"I know that it's just... what you told me about the contamination and your eye... I feel like I could have done more."

"Not unless you could have predicted the future. Remember the Angel invaded my body before you were on the scene so I would have been affected regardless. As far as the contamination goes... I know I said I worried about it... that I felt less than human sometimes and it's true but... Akagi and Katsuragi have assured me its fine. That there is nothing to worry about and nothing there. If I worry about it than that is on me."

"So you are fine?"

Asuka nodded, "I think so, I mean if Akagi says it then it must be true right and Katsuragi backs her up. I think before we crash landed in the desert, I thought I felt something so it was on my mind but since then I've been fine... better than fine actually. There is nothing to worry about."

XXX

Misato cautiously entered the room, just behind her was Ritsuko. As soon as she entered she could feel the eyes of Director Barclay upon her. She could sense the condescending smile on his lips and almost immediately felt the anger bubbling to the surface. She detested dealing with people like Barclay, people who spent most of their time talking and getting in the way when action could be taken.

He wasn't the one who ran Neo-London but Misato and many others knew that he thought of himself as the one who did so. He was always here, locked in meetings with its leaders and influencing its development.

It wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing if it wasn't for the fact that his idea of development contrasted so sharply with those who believed in WILLEs mission of taking down NERV. Barclay wanted to believe the threats were over, he wanted to pretend they didn't exist anymore or anything could be explained away as a one off.

As she entered she could also feel the eyes of another of WILLEs directors upon her. Director Pirani, a younger woman and someone in a superior position to Barclay. Misato didn't know too much about her only that she was someone who was slightly more sympathetic to the actual mission of WILLE.

"Director Barclay, Director Pirani." Misato bowed politely as she stopped near to Barclay’s desk.

"Captain Katsuragi, we were just discussing the incident yesterday. I trust that is the reason you are here."

_'You know the exact reason why I am here you snake.'_

Misato bit back her response and decided to stay polite for the time being, "Yes I am. I was wondering why the prisoners were taken from my ship without me being told about it?"

Misato watched the two of them carefully. Barclays' facial expression didn't change at all, if anything his smile only grew wider with the knowledge of Misato's annoyance. Pirani on the other hand looked somewhat surprised as her gaze turned to watch Barclay with interest.

"Ah yes, well after some discussion with the mayor of the city we both decided the best course of action would be to deal with the perpetrators of the crime swiftly and quietly. A warrant was signed and presented to your head of security an-"

"I know what happened, my head of security told me all about it when I inquired as to why we have six missing prisoners. What I want to know is why I was not informed of this."

Barclay shrugged nonchalantly, "An oversight I expect, you being informed was not a necessary part of the procedure and therefore it was not appropriate to conta-"

"They were members of my crew, if they are going to be taken from my ship than it is appropriate for the captain to be made aware."

"They were criminals Katsuragi, wanted for a crime committed on Neo-Londons soil. Once they had done that all rights were stripped away from them and they were no longer members of your crew. There was no need to inf-"

"Criminals or not they were on my ship and given the current situation I would like to know when people come aboard my ship and when people are taken from my ship."

"By situation I assume you are of course referring to your handling of the victim in this, Shinji Ikari?"

Misato scowled, "You know fine well that is what I mean. If people know about him being aboard that ship and can get on and off without my knowledge then who is to say tha-"

Barclay waved his hands and cut her off, "Now now Misato, do you not think I hadn't already taken that into account? That is the exact reason I had this done so discretely. If, as you said, news got out about the presence of Shinji Ikari on board that ship then who knows what might happen. That is why I thought to deal with it quickly and quietly."

"No you chose to go behind my back, even after I said they were my responsibility to deal with!"

A small cough suddenly interrupted the two of them from Pirani. She quietly stood up, "Captain Katsuragi, Barclay has informed me of the situation involving the recovery and current status of Shinji Ikari. Tell me is it true that he is aboard your ship and that you let him out to freely travel the city yesterday?"

Misato turned to face the director and shook her head, "No, that is not true. As my report made clear some weeks ago we did recover what we believed to be and was later confirmed as Shinji Ikari and we are currently housing him onboard the Wunder. Whilst it is true that I allowed him into the city yesterday it was not to freely travel the city, he was with Pilot Shikinami at all times."

"Except for the time of the incident." Barclay chimed in."

"Oh please, Pilot Shikinami had to use the bathroom, he couldn't have followed her in there as well."

"Then perhaps he should have had two escorts."

"We were trying to be discrete, no one was supposed to know about him being within the city. That is why we had only Shikinami there."

"Or alternatively he shouldn't have been let out at all." Barclay turned to face Pirani, "Director Pirani, personally I feel that Katsuragi's actions here were reckless. A threat like Ikari should not have been let insid-"

"Enough!" Pirani held up a hand to silence Barclay, "Captain Katsuragi, do you believe your actions were reckless in letting Shinji Ikari roam the city?"

Misato shook her head, "I do not. We took whatever precautions we could in allowing him out. We arranged for a false name, an escort and made sure he went out when no one else was able to see it. I am however willing to accept the responsibility for what has happened. It is for this reason I wanted to deal with the prisoners myself."

Pirani shook her head, "There will be no need for you to take responsibility for anything. What happened was unfortunate and I will see to it that those who carried out this attack will be brought to justice."

"Director Pirani, we are more than capab-"

She silenced Barclay, "I understand that both you and the mayor wish for this to be done here. As Captain Katsuragi has rightfully pointed out the incident occurred with WILLE personnel and it is the responsibility of WILLE to deal with it. Neo-London will get its chance to deal with them after we have handed out an appropriate punishment. For now however I request that you hand the prisoners over to my care and I will arrange for what happens next."

"Yes Director."

Misato nodded, "Thank you."

"I am just doing what I feel is fair given the circumstances. Now Captain Katsuragi I need to ask you something. What are your plans as far as handling Shinji Ikari going forward?"

Misato shook her head, "Undecided as of this moment. We are currently discussing the situation and attempting to come up with a solution that is best for all parties."

"I see, well I would ask that these discussions be halted. We have been discussing it ourselves and feel that the best place for Shinji Ikari would be on board the Wunder. We are currently in the process of re-evaluating the incident in Tokyo-3 fourteen years ago in an effort to understand the truth. This is a complicated process and we feel, given how Shinji is perceived by members of the population, he would be safest in your care."

Misato nodded, "Of course."

"I would also like to make a further request of yourself. I would like to speak to Shinji Ikari."

XXX

Mari adjusted her glasses and hummed with satisfaction as the screen came to life and she was in amongst the hidden files. She had to hand it to Rei, the girl had done a great job of organizing everything. It would make Mari's little hunt for information that much quicker.

Of course what Rei had organized was only one small selection of what Mari wanted to see. She wanted to go a little bit deeper than that. She glanced around the small office cautiously before getting to work on what she wanted to do. Ritsuko was not onboard the Wunder today, she had been pulled into a meeting with Misato in Neo-London so that gave Mari some breathing room.

There were a few others who had access to the room but the chances of them coming in at any point were slim. She had enough time to read through what Rei had organized and work on cracking into Ritsuko's personal archives.

She wasn't completely sure of what she might find by doing this but she felt that it was something she had to do. Seeing the report the other day on Rei's status had set off an alarm bell inside her head. Ritsuko Akagi, the second in command of this ship was in some way connected to the truth of what Rei was. Whether that meant she was involved in the creation of the Ayanami series of the maintenance of them she didn't know but she wanted to know.

_'If Akagi is connected to Ayanami then there were likely a few more things about NERV she knew. Ikari wouldn't just let anybody handle that sort of thing. He trusted her and that makes her worth investigating.'_

After a brief amount of time searching she finally pulled up what seemed to be a report recounting one of Ritsuko's first encounters with Rei Ayanami.

_'Today I was introduced to Rei Ayanami for the first time. Or as I should more accurately put it Ayanami Series Prototype 001. It is now my duty to provide medical care and maintenance to this particular model going forward._

_I will admit that I was not entirely sure of what to expect during my meeting with the First Child. I am aware that up until now the care of Rei Ayanami has been handled by Commander Ikari. I would not describe the Commander as a typical parent or do I think he is someone who is capable of being what I would describe as a typical parent. Yet Rei Ayanami cannot be described as a typical child either. In fact to call her a child would be far from the truth._

_What Rei Ayanami is, is the product of a number of experiments to fuse a human soul with an artificially produced body. Whilst I am not privy to the full details of these experiments I have my suspicions on the subjects used to produce the Ayanami series and I have to admit, even as a scientist that believes we must at times cast aside our morals to make progress, I find myself hoping that my suspicions are not accurate._

_My observations so far regarding Rei Ayanami is that she is a polite, yet distant child. I am not sure if this is the result of the drugs that are administered to Rei for her 'maintenance' or due to her upbringing yet I am eager to engage with the child more going forward. In truth she intimidates me somewhat and I feel like I am about to go down a rabbit hole from which I might never climb back out of.'_

Mari's eyes widened as she read through the report, she nodded with interest taking in all the details but also smiled with relief at its contents. The smile however was short lived by a very abrupt cough from the direction of the door. Mari slowly turned her gaze upwards to see a frowning redhead staring back at her.

"Well hello Princess, how can I help you?"

In the dim light of the room Mari could see that Asukas' expression hadn't changed. If anything she only seemed to be frowning more, "Care to explain to me what you're doing here?"

Mari had not expected Asuka to have caught her here. Of all people onboard the ship Asuka was in fact the last one that she had expected to see today. If there was anyone else standing in that doorway then Mari might have been able to bluff her way out of it, maybe make up some sort of lie and get rid of them. Asuka was not anyone else though and Mari didn't feel comfortable lying to her. Yet she couldn't tell her the full truth either.

"Well?" Asuka stated impatiently.

It took a few more moments before Mari let out the briefest of sighs. She could maybe give Asuka a vague explanation before moving her onwards, "Just researching something, nothing for you to worry about."

"Funny that you chose to do your research in the dark, in an office that doesn't belong to you and that you had to break into to access. Something wrong with the computer in your quarters or even one of the public access ones?" Asuka questioned her.

Mari flashed her a halfhearted smile, "Would you believe me if I said that mines broken?"

"No." Asuka replied flatly.

"What about if I said that Akagis' terminal was the only one that'd be of use to me?"

"Maybe, but then I'd question why you had to use that one specifically."

"Oh... Yeah, I guess you would huh..."

Asuka stepped into the room and let the door slide shut behind her. Mari could see Asuka reaching for something in the darkness and a moment later the lights came on in the office, albeit slightly dimmed.

"So are you going to tell me what you're doing here?" Asuka asked her again.

"I'm... looking for something. It's nothing for you to worry about."

"Like hell it isn't! It's clearly something for me to worry about if my friend is sneaking around and breaking into a superior officer’s office and acting evasive. Tell me what's going on Mari."

Mari grinned, "You're worried about me?"

"Yeah yeah, don't let it go to your head or anything. You're still going to explain to me what's going on."

Mari glanced at the report again and paused before looking back up at Asuka, "Alright fine... I suppose you have a right to know. I just... didn't want to say anything, it's safe for me to do this sort of thing. If I'm caught then... whatever but getting you involved... you have the puppy to worry about now."

"Oh god, now I know what I sound like." Asuka grimaced as she spoke, "Don't be an idiot, you're part of my team and I'm not going to stand by whilst you do something stupid on your own. Besides don't you have Ayanami to worry about?"

Mari smiled, "Ayanami?"

Asuka nodded, "Oh come on Mari you have to have noticed, she likes you. She pretty much confessed as much to me when she first met you. If something happened to you then she'd probably be sad. I mean you took her out, I'm surprised you haven't already tried it on wi-"

"Oh come on Asuka you know fine well I'm not like that."

"Hey I was just saying, I know how your mind works."

"Oh is that so? Because I seem to remember it being you who initiated it with me the first time. Or did you forget that?"

Asuka glanced down at the floor, "Shut up."

"Besides as far as Ayanami goes, yes I had noticed and no I have not tried it on with her. We've spent some time together and yesterday might have been a date but I'm not... well it's not that I'm not interested. She is gorgeous but she's also... still learning who she is, I don't want to complicate that."

"And you think getting yourself caught breaking into someone's office won't complicate things for her. Regardless of whether or not you reciprocate her feelings she feels a connection with you and what you're doing is too risky..."

Mari frowned and looked at the report again, "I... know but what I'm doing. It's about Ayanami and Akagi right... I had a suspicion that Akagi might have been involved in a few things back at NERV and I had to check up on it... it's... well you know why..."

Asuka sighed and nodded, "It's your mother isn't it?"

“Yeah…” Mari finally admitted to her, “I figured that if Akagi knew what Rei was all that time and wasn’t willing to talk about it then maybe she had a few other little skeletons in her closet. After all it took a while for us to learn what Rei was ourselves and Gendo kept that info close to his chest. She must have been trusted by him to have access to Ayanami and be put in charge of treating her right?”

“Makes sense, but what does that have to do with your mother?”

“I just figure that if he trusted her that much then she might have known more than she let on. Maybe she was privy to a few more details than we first thought. I mean… let’s be honest what do we really know about her?”

Asuka gave a shrug, “I dunno, not much I guess. Genius Scientist, was the head of Project E, cold-hearted at times and old friends with Katsuragi. What’s your point?”

“Just that… she might have been more involved with Gendos’ plans than we first thought. Don’t get me wrong I don’t think she’s turned traitor or anything just that she might have a few things we don’t know about.”

“Are you sure this isn’t just you being paranoid?”

“Maybe but I have to check. I know for a fact she was involved with the Ayanami series and knew what it was. I saw a report on the old Dummy Plug facility that was signed off by her. I know it seems like a stretch, what happened to my mother happened before she came on the scene but…”

“Alright I get it, I understand it but I’m not happy about it. It’s dangerous and stupid and… if you are caught then you realize what will happen? Why not just ask her?”

“Hah, and risk her lying to be or just completely evading me? Anyway asking directly isn’t my style, much better to do it on my own, gather what I need and confront them with it. At least that’s what he taught me.”

“Kaji?” Asuka snorted with laughter, “Yeah, fair enough that sounds ridiculous enough to have come from him.”

Asuka made her way around to the terminal and glanced at what Mari had on screen, “So come on then, what have you found?”

“Nothing too incriminating… yet. You interrupted me before I really had a chance to look at anything. I did find this report from Akagi after her first meeting with Rei. It seems that she was somewhat apprehensive about the whole thing. Can’t blame her really… cloning has always been a controversial issue and even more so if she knew where Rei come from.”

“Right, so she wasn’t keen on taking the job.”

“Not at first. I guess at that point we can guess that she knew little about SEELE or Ikaris’ true intentions. It’s possible that she learned more about them as time went on but it was a number of years between her joining and the Near-Third so who knows where it could be buried… if at all.”

“What happened to your mother… and my mother happened years before Akagi was there though right. So it at least means she had nothing to do with it.”

“True but she might know something… I just, I remember the name from when I used to visit my mother in the lab too.”

Asuka stopped to think about what Mari had said for a moment. She knew that she probably shouldn’t be helping her but she had to admit she was invested in this as well. SEELE was not only responsible for Maris’ mothers’ death but also that of her own mother. They had both died in freak accidents that should never have happened yet it was clear to the two of them that something else was to blame. Both their mothers had been getting close to something.

She tried to think back to her own past. Unfortunately for Asuka anything before her mother had died was little more than a blur, she couldn’t recall any of it. All she could remember was waking up after the accident and being told her mother was hurt. After that she could remember every excruciating detail. Watching as her mother deteriorated in that bed. Being attacked by her and eventually finding her lifeless body.

_‘Stop it Asuka… don’t think of that now, need to stay strong.’_

Asuka tried to focus on what Mari had said. She knew very little of Ritsukos’ past before she had arrived at NERV. Only what she had told Mari previously. Studying up on NERVs history had never been much of a priority for Asuka. She knew the organization was founded around the time of her birth, Gendo Ikari and Fuyutsuki were the people in charge of it. Shinjis’ mother was a member as was Maris and Asuka’s. She could even recall Misato telling her that her own father was involved in what NERV was before-hand but he had died during the Second Impact.

It was at that moment that the thought struck her. Maybe Mari was right in assuming the name Akagi was there around that time.

_‘Of course. Maris’ mother was a member, my mother was a member and both of Shinjis parents. Most of our families are tied to NERV in some way and for Ritsuko to just come in and be given a job like that… then maybe…’_

Asuka grinned triumphantly and turned to Mari, “What about Ritsukos’ mother?”

“Oh!” Mari looked down at the screen and tapped away at the keyboard, “Asuka, you’re right! I should have come to you first! You’re amazing, have I ever told you that?”

“I already know but do feel free to tell me again four-eyes.” Asuka glanced cautiously towards the door.

“You’re amazing and Shinji is a very lucky boy.”

“I know that as well, and he knows it too.”

“Annnnd there we go! Naoko Akagi she was the Chief Scientist until Ritsuko took over.”

“Oh?” Asuka looked down at the screen to see a picture of a red haired woman that did resember Ritsuko in a number of ways. She was clearly older than Ritsuko and seemed to be somewhat more imposing, “So what happened to her?”

“She died… cause of death… suicide.”

XXX

Asuka felt her hand tighten around the controls of the Eva. She had to admit that it felt good to be piloting solo once again, even if this particular version of Unit 02 was obsolete compared to what she had now. After the events of this morning she could do with blowing off a little bit of steam. After finding out about Naoko Akagi bother herself and Mari had agreed to leave it for today and come back to it at a later point.

She kept those thoughts in the back of her mind though. For now she had to focus, her pride was on the line here amongst other things.

She glanced at the countdown timer on her HUD checking how long there was to go. From there she scanned the area in front of her. It was a fairly standard set up. In the middle of the map was a city made to resemble Tokyo-3 but in its defensive formation. It was a mixture of smaller civilian buildings and higher metallic husks which contained additional power points for the Evas and weaponary.

Asuka brought the Eva down into a crouch and contemplated what her first move would be. Her target was not like any she had come up against before. This enemy was, as much as she didn't want to admit it, capable to standing with her toe to toe. It was smart and could potentially cause her a lot of trouble. To beat it would require all her focus and maybe even a little bit of playing dirty.

Asuka grinned to herself and slowly stood the Eva up again. The timer counted down to zero signifying the start of this little game. She had the Eva grip its rifle and point forward scanning for any movement. Satisfied that nothing had moved she started to take those steps forward.

_'Prepare yourself Shinji... here I come.'_

XXX

Shinji nervously glanced at the ticking clock in the corner of his HUD. He was wondering just how he had managed to get himself into this situation but then he remembered what had happened when Asuka had returned to visit him in that cell.

_'This is my own fault... I said I'd be able to beat her and she asked if it was a challenge and I said yes. Asuka is right... I am an idiot.'_

Asuka had barged back into their room barely an hour after they had had breakfast. She had pointed at him and demanded he make good on his challenge to her. Naturally he couldn't turn it down. So here he was, waiting.

Shinji slowed his breathing down in an effort to calm himself. Fortunately his body no longer hurt as much as it did this morning, most of the pain was gone. He had always healed fairly quickly, and it wasn’t as it he wasn’t used to pain. Battling the Angels had caused him enough of it over the years.

It felt unusual for him to be back in the cockpit of Evangelion Unit 01 again. Of course this was not the real Evangelion Unit 01. This was just a facsimile of it set up inside a simulator. There was no chance in hell he was going to be allowed near another Evangelion again and that was the way he wanted it.

Despite that fact everything about this felt exactly the same as it would when being inside an Evangelion. Asuka had told him how the simulator had been made to replicate the experience as closely as possible. It would control in exactly the same way as a real Evangelion would. LCL flowed through the cockpit, the strange breathable liquid feeling and smelling just as it always did. His plugsuit felt the same as it used to, tight around the throat and fitting to his body as much as possible.

He gave a quick thought for Asuka in her simulator. Wondered about how she looked in her plugsuit right now. It clinging to every part of her body. Shinji blinked the thought away, now was not the time for him to be distracted by thoughts of Asuka.

Instead he focused on reminding himself how this worked and how much it felt like Evangelion Unit 01. It would even perform based on his sync ratio and allow him to produce A.T. Fields within the simulator.

_'The only thing missing is the connection I felt when I was in here... but this isn't the same control system is it? This one isn't being controlled by my mother.'_

An image of his mother flashed through his mind, the one that Fuyutsuki had shown him back in NERV. The one of her before she became the control mechanism for the real Unit 01. Until Fuyutsuki had shown him that image and the photo of him as a baby Shinji had completely forgotten what his mother had looked like. Now in his mind he had two very different images of her and a conflicting idea of just what she was.

_'I have to focus... Asuka would hate me if I let her win or if she won because I wasn't paying attention. My mother can wait... I'm piloting now and I don't want to lose.'_

Shinji smiled just a little bit and looked ahead towards the facsimile of Tokyo-3. It certainly looked a lot cleaner than it used to. Of course that was mostly owing to the fact that this version had been prepared in advance and not just changed on the fly due to a sudden Angel attack.

The clock was still ticking, Shinji took some time to think about what his first move should be. This wasn't a fight against an Angel and he had no one backing him up. It was a simple one on one contest between himself and Asuka.

_'Just as it was down in NERV... except... No damnit Shinji, focus...'_

Asuka was a skilled Eva pilot. Out of all the pilots she was probably the best. She excelled in close range and in ranged, yet Shinji had seen her slip up once or twice. He just had to make sure he took notice of those moments and capitalized on it.

He unsheathed the Evas progressive knife and brought the simulated Unit 01 down to a crouch just as the clock ticked down to zero. A moment later he set off running towards the cities perimeter.

_'Asuka... I'm sorry but I'm not going to lose'_

XXX

Asuka made it to the first building she could find and took cover behind it. Immediately afterwards she ejected the now stretched Umbilical Cable and replaced it with a new one from a nearby power source. She then listened out for Shinji, even if he was moving slowly and carefully she should still be able to hear him move. Eva's were large and not exactly known for their stealth capabilities yet as she listened out she could hear nothing but the sounds of simulated cicadas.

_'That's not annoying at all, I know they were going for realism but they could have left those out.'_

Carefully she peaked around the corner of the structure she was on hoping to get a glimpse of the purple and green figure of Unit 01 as it moved between the buildings. Unfortunately for her no such thing occurred. Shinji was probably being slightly more cautious than he would normally.

_'Well of course he is, he's up against me isn't he?'_

Suddenly she could hear something. A steady beat that could only mean one thing. Evangelion Unit 01 was on the move. She took a moment to try to discern what direction the thud of the footsteps was coming from. They were coming from her right. She peeked out again trying to catch a glimpse of the purple monster. There was nothing, she got herself back into the cover position and listened out again. The steps seemed to be somewhere towards the middle of the city and perhaps getting closer.

_'I can't stay here, got to start moving.'_

She gracefully pulled Evangelion Unit 02 out of cover and span into a cover position just to her right. She peeked through the maze of buildings. The rhythmic pulse of Shinji's Eva's footsteps still sounding but no glimpse of the Unit itself.

_'What the hell is he doing? Dancing? Why can't I see him yet?'_

Asuka rounded the corner and started moving towards the source of the noises. She kept herself as close to the building as was possible and slowly shuffled along. Her rifle aimed forward ready to fire as soon as she caught of glimpse of the machine.

A moment later the sounds stopped, replaced suddenly by an eerie silence. Asuka stopped almost immediately and gripped the rifle tightly. She aimed ahead and slowly panned the scene in front of her.

_'Where are you Shinji... what are you doing?'_

As soon as she finished her thought she felt a strange sensation sweep over her body. She looked up to her top right and grimaced at her own carelessness. She instantly raised her A.T. Field and jumped backward to dodge the incoming hail of bullets.

It took all of her effort to keep her Eva balanced and on its feet as it jumped backwards. She cursed herself for being caught off guard as the sound of Unit 02s footsteps echoed all around her and she quickly dashed into cover around another building just in time to get out of the way of another barrage of fire.

_'Very good Shinji... but now I know where you are and there aren't many options for you. Payback time!'_

XXX

Shinji approached the building and looked upwards. It was nearly double the height of Evangelion Unit 01. The tallest building in Tokyo-3. He had gotten to his destination quickly, all he had to do now was get himself into position.

Shinji knew that Asuka would be watching the streets of Tokyo-3 carefully for his approach. She'd have her gun ready for any glimpse of him and the likelihood would be that if she saw him she would fire and hit him. From there he'd be on the defensive and the chances of beating Asuka in hand to hand were slim.

What this meant was that he would have to take her by surprise. A difficult task in a machine such as an Evangelion which wasn't exactly build for stealth. As he had scanned the skyline of the city an idea had struck him. He knew Asuka would be watching the streets vigilantly, perhaps a little bit too much so. He might have been able to take advantage of that. If he could spot her first he could get her on the back foot and that'd give him a chance.

So he had seen this building and thought that if he could climb it that'd allow him to see her Eva first. After all how hard could it be to spot a giant sixty-five foot bio-mechanical being in a metallic city?

He tentatively reached out a hand to grip the side of the building. It was built from a special type of steel and highly reinforced. Yet as he felt Unit 01s right hand grip itself tightly onto the edge, sinking itself through the windows that were there and watching the rubble shower itself down onto him he started to question that. Still he was committed to his plan now, it was this or nothing.

He raised the right leg of Unit 01 and kicked a hole through the side of the building and steadied himself. A moment later his left hand came up and positioned itself slightly above the right and he prepared himself to pull upwards.

_'Here we go... one step at a time...'_

Using the combined effort of both the arms and right leg of Unit 01 he pulled and the Unit moved upwards. It's left foot dangling precariously off of the ground. He very quickly pulled it in and steadied it on the building in a position above the right foot.

Resisting the urge to glance downwards now that he was off the ground he took a slow and steady breath before beginning the climbing process. His right hand came away ever so slightly followed by his right foot. Using a combination of his left arm and leg he pushed upwards allowing himself to gain more height on the building.

Shinji steadied himself again as both right appendages came to rest on the building. He knew he was barely off the ground and he likely had some way to go. He wished that he had taken the climbing lessons he was forced to take with Asuka a bit more seriously. It wasn't that he hadn't taken them seriously it was just he never thought they would be of any use to him. It was an effort by Misato and NERV to aid in building up Asuka and Shinjis teamwork skills.

They were to take a weeks’ worth of climbing lessons, learning how to trust and communicate with each other. Of course this was very different to those lessons. For one Shinji didn't have Asuka down there with a rope belaying him and ready to catch him if he fell. Instead she was inside this city and if she saw him she would be responsible for him falling.

_'Need to keep going'_

The left appendages raised and sunk into the building. Shinji cursed as he had difficulty maintaining the left foots position. It scraped and slide across the surface of the building before he eventually got it to settle in position. The little scare over and done with he continued his journey until eventually he was on the roof of the building.

He positioned himself carefully and aimed the rifle he had stowed on his back previously and scanned the area for Asuka. After looking for a moment he finally saw her, the giant red form of Evangelion Unit 02 making its way through the streets.

Shinji took aim and gently squeezed the trigger firing a hail of bullets towards Unit 02. He gave a smile of satisfaction as he was sure he was about the hit the target. The smile very quickly faded when he watched as Asuka swiftly span around and the light of her A.T. Field appeared as she dodged out of the way of his fire.

Shinji swiftly fired off another barrage, Asuka just managing to jump out of the way of these as well. He watched as she moved around a building out of his view but he didn’t let up firing another hail of bullets. If he couldn’t see her in position around the building he’d just make a hole in the building and expose her that way.

He looked on as each bullet thundered against the side of the building. Smoke and debris erupted from where he repeatedly hit his target. He waited a moment for the smoke to clear up and observe the damage done to the building. He had not seen Asuka move from the spot she had escaped too, nor had he seen any signs of her A.T. Field.

As the smoke cleared he readied his rifle for another barrage. The building had been decimated, reduced to a pile of rubble and standing in place behind it was…

Nothing.

Shinji blinked. There was nothing there. Unit 02 was nowhere to be seen, yet he hadn’t seen it move from the building. He had been watching both sides carefully for her to emerge and seen nothing. Yet she clearly had done. Without hesitating he scanned the streets again trying to catch a sign of her. It couldn’t be too hard to spot a giant red machine running these streets.

_‘Where has she gone? She can’t have just vanished that doesn’t make sense.’_

He very suddenly got his answer when he saw the hail of fair coming his way. Only it wasn’t aimed directly at him. He watched as the bullets slammed into the base of the building he was stood on. The sounds of the bullets thundering into the building, followed by the creaking of it as it slowly sank downwards spurred him into action.

Shinji quickly regained balance and control of Unit 01 and readied himself to jump from the building. He jumped forward hoping to make it to the next roof. Asuka seemed to have known what he’d be doing and he aim turned towards the building he was jumping to. Shinji had little time to react and regain any balance before he had to jump towards the next building’s roof.

Yet again Asuka predicted his move. Unit 01s foot caught the edge of the building just as it started to come down. Shinji cursed himself realizing that he had gone from being on the offensive to the defensive very quickly.

He tried to scramble Unit 01 to stay upright but as the foot went through the building it slipped and he was sent hurtling towards the ground. Unit 01 slammed into the ground, Shinji gritted his teeth as the cockpit rumbled and jerked around him. His body was thrown around as the simulation body moved to try to mimic what he was seeing on screen. It didn’t hurt as much as it would have done in a real Evangelion but he knew he’d be coming out of this with a few more bruises to add to his collection.

He felt a twinge in his ribs as he rolled the Eva over and forced it to its feet once more. He could see the dust falling over the cockpit as he brought himself to full height. In the fall he realized he had lost his rifle and quickly brought out his progressive knife.

As he looked up he could see Unit 02 in front of him, poised and ready to strike.

XXX

Asuka grinned as Unit 01 recovered from its fall and withdrew its knife. She had it exactly where she wanted it. She had to admit, Shinji had been clever in trying to get a height advantage on her. She hadn’t considered him doing something like that. Only it was going to be for nothing, she brought him back down to Earth and was now going to finish this off.

She began to charge forward, her own progressive knife ready to strike. About half way through she leapt up into the air and extended her A.T. Field in an effort to counter Shinjis that would undoubtedly be raised at this point.

As Unit 02 came back down there was a bridge flash as both A.T. Fields collided with one another. Despite being in a simulation body Shinji was producing a strong A.T.Field. Enough to shock Asuka but not throw her off. She kept her focus on extending her own and trying to push her way through the barrier.

She gritted her teeth trying to push forward. The light of the colliding A.T. Fields raged all around her as she tried to take a step forward and weaken Shinji’s A.T. Field. She could see Unit 01s arm extending itself towards her its progressive knife gripped tightly in its hand.

_‘Why is this so strong… come on just give up Shinji you know you can’t win!’_

Asuka extended Unit 02s arm out to match Shinji’s. She’d break through the field soon, she had to and then she’d swat Shinji’s arm out of the way and rush her shoulder into his chest. She could take him down and…

_‘Just… one… big… push… I can do this! I can’t lose! No… wait…’_

It took her a moment but she finally realized what was happening but she could hardly believe it. She wasn’t weakening Shinji’s A.T. Field at all. It was her barrier that was weakening and she had noticed it just in time to see Shinji push through and try to use the exact same move she was going to use on him. Unit 02s right hand was knocked out of position. She was unable to keep a grip on the progressive knife and watched as it was sent spiraling away from her.

Her reflexes kicked in and she nimbly dodged to the right as Unit 01s shoulder came dashing at her. There was a loud clash of steel plating against steel plating as Asuka just managed to get out of the way and send a kick towards Unit 01s midsection. She watched as Unit 01 stumbled but managed to stay on its feet. It leapt backwards and moved forward again.

Asuka lurched forward unable to dodge this time as Unit 01s shoulder crashed into her middle. In reaction he raised her arms and tried to bring her elbows down onto Unit 01s back as it pushed her backwards up against a building. Dust and debris showered down around her as sparks flew out and the thunderous sound of the two Eva’s fighting echoed through the streets of the city.

_‘Scheisse… he’s good… he’s very good…’_

XXX

Shinji backed away from her to contemplate his next move. He was now in a position he did not want to be in, locked in a fist fight with Asuka Shikinami. Both of his weapons had been lost during the battle. His rifle had been lost in the debris of the first building he had climbed up on top of and his progressive knife had been forced from his hand when he charged into Asuka just now.

Fortunately for him Asuka seemed to be in exactly the same position with no weapons of her own. It was still not a position he wanted to be in. Shinji had been given some mandatory self-defense classes as part of his pilot training but he had to admit it was not something he enjoyed nor was he good at. He scraped by but only just. Asuka on the other hand had been taking classes for many years and enjoyed them.

Out of the corner of his eye he could see Unit 02 recovering from being pushed into the building. The sight of an Evangelion shaped hole in the structure would have been almost comical and made him laugh if he didn't know have to contend with the aggressive German charging at him.

She threw a punch with Unit 02s right hand, aiming for the face of Unit 01. Shinji was just able to dodge out of the way. She didn't let up, this was immediately followed by a follow up punch from the left arm. Shinji ducked Unit 01 out of the way just in time for Unit 02s fist to punch itself way through another building. Rubble spiraled down onto the ground below as Shinji dashed away.

He tried to put more distance between the two of them hoping that he could get a bit of time to recover from the attacks. He spun around getting her in his sights again. She was moving quickly towards him, Unit 02s head bowed slight.

 _"I've got you now!"_  He heard her boast over the comm channel.

Shinji started to brace himself for the impact but then in a moment of sheer panic he gripped hold of one of the nearby structures pulling at it until it broke off and quickly aimed what he could at Unit 02. Pieces of the structure bounced off of Unit 02s armour plating with a clattering sound and Shinji watched as Asuka stopped in her tracks holding her arms up to deflect the blows.

Taking this as his chance he moved in aiming a kick at Unit 02s midsection. He caught it with full force, the sound of the steel armour clashing together thundered in his ears. He quickly followed up with a punch aimed at the chest of Unit 02 hoping that he could expose the Core of the Unit somehow and end this. 

It seemed that Asuka had other ideas. A hand was raised to catch Shinji's fist and she responded with a punch of her own directly to Unit 01s chest plate. Shinjis cockpit rattled and shook in response to the blow.

Shinji backed away, shoving at Unit 02 before bringing up the left knee of his own Evangelion and smashing it into the mid-section of Unit 02. He followed up with a punch to the chest plate, this time he hit his target and red shards began to fall to the ground as the armour plating was cracked.

Shinji prepared a follow up again, this time hoping to bring further damage to Unit 02s chest plating. He raised an elbow up ready to bring it down on the back of Unit 02. He spied the neck plate, through it he could see the white form of the entry plug.

His stomach suddenly churned at the sight of it. For a moment he could imagine himself back in the real Unit 01 once again. Watching helplessly as Unit 01, powered by the dummy system fought relentlessly against the possessed Unit 03. He could see it there with the Entry Plug between its teeth destroying it in its entirety.

_'Asuka... I... can't...'_

His hands trembled at the controls as he tried to come to his senses. He tried to tell himself that what was happening now was not real. Asuka wasn't really going to be hurt and the two of them had agreed to do this. It was supposed to be a game, just a bit of fun to settle a silly argument. Yet he couldn't bring himself to land the attack.

_'No... That wasn't... she's not going to be hurt I have to... ugh...'_

Whether he was able to or not no longer mattered. Asuka had seized upon his moment of hesitation and he now found himself being thrust backwards as Unit 02 shoved its shoulder into the midsection of Unit 01. Its hands reached around for the legs of Unit 01 and effortlessly pulled them away from him sending him crashing onto his back.

The sound of the ground heaving below him as he crashed into it threatened to deafen him and all he would see in his cockpit was the face of Unit 02 staring directly at him. For a moment he could almost see Asuka through it staring at him. He offered no resistance as the fist of Unit 02 came crashing into Unit 01s already damaged chest plate.

Barely a second later his HUD had gave him confirmation of his defeat. The core had been breached and Unit 01 was no longer operational. He heard Asukas' voice come over the communication line.

_"I win..."_

Shinji smiled to himself as the image of the city and Unit 02 faded away only to be replaced by the cold black screens of the simulator. He sat back and waited for the LCL to drain from the system so that the door to the machine to unlock itself so that he could get out of there.

XXX

Shinji put his towel down on the bench for a moment and stood still in front of the locker looking at the blue plugsuit he had worn throughout the simulation battle. It felt strange to have stepped inside it again. It might not have been the same one but the entire experience had been similar enough to evoke those old feelings.

_'At least I wasn't hurt this time... my ribs still hurt from the cockpit rattling around but it wasn't like being in the real Eva...'_

He neatly folded the towel and put it back in the locker and sighed. He felt strange about his moment of hesitation. He almost cursed himself for letting it happen. He knew all along that there was no chance of really hurting Asuka, the entire thing was little more than a game after all.

"You hesitated didn't you?"

Shinji, startled by the sound of the voice suddenly spun around and his eyes fixed themselves on Asuka who had silently made her way into the locker room. He gave a sad smile and nodded, “Yeah… I did.”

“Idiot, it was just a simulation.”

“I know but…”

Shinji trailed off as he watched her gaze suddenly go downwards. He felt himself start to glow a deep shade of red as she looked back up at him both of them realizing the situation. Shinji tried to grab for the towel that he had just stowed away to try to cover up his modesty

“A-Asuka…” He exclaimed.

All Asuka could do was burst into a laugh.

Shinji tried to cover himself up with his hands, feeling himself turn redder and redder with each passing momet, “I-It’s not funny… this is the men’s locker room isn’t it?”

Asuka gave a grin and nodded, “Oh stop being so embarrassed, it’s not like I haven’t already seen it. You do remember what we did right?”

Shinji nodded, “Y-Yeah but I… you didn’t just barge in on me then…”

“I guess, this is quite fun though.” She said with a shrug before moving towards him. Shinji had barely any time to react before she had pressed him up against the locker. Her lips locked themselves firmly onto his, his tongue danced with hers for a moment before she pulled away. A look of satisfaction on her face as he felt his body start to react to her.

Seconds later it was replaced by a more serious expression.

“Why did you hesitate?” She asked again.

Shinjis’ eyes lowered, “I… was about to attack but then I thought of what happened to you in Unit 03. I just… couldn’t do it. I know it was stupid and it was just a simulation but I couldn’t get over it.”

“Idiot…” She chuckled, “I guess we shouldn’t have done the simulator thing so soon should we?”

Shinji shook his head, “No… I wanted to. It was fun and besides it’s not like I lost because of that is it.”

“Damn right it isn’t… although you gave me a good run. No one has ever been able to lay their hands on me like that before.”

“Really?”

Asuka shook her head, “Nope… and now I have a gift for you. This time I’m going to let you lay your hands on me.”

“A-Asuka… here?” Shinji stuttered.

She nodded, “Door's locked… I’m the only one with a keycard and you seem more than ready.”

Shinji gently placed his hands around her waist as he leaned in to kiss her once again. Asuka slid her tongue gently into his as he felt her slowly pull him away from the locker and towards the nearby bench. He traced his hands up along her side reaching up inside of the small shirt she was wearing. She broke the kiss and smiled at him.

“You’re not going to hesitate here are you?” She whispered teasingly into his ear.

He shook his head, “Not at all.”


	10. Shut Down The Guilt Machine

Shinjis' eyes kept darting between Asuka and the door of the meeting room. His stomach was churning with worry at what was about to happen next. He wondered just how far the bathroom was from this room.

Mari had delivered a message to them shortly after Asuka had come to visit him in the locker room after their fight in the simulator. How long she had been stood outside he didn't know but he could still remember the Cheshire cat like grin she had worn when she caught sight of Asuka. Asukas' face had still been red, her hair messed up from their impromptu activities. Shinji had been unable to look Mari in the eye as the message was delivered.

Moments later Asuka had taken Mari to one side. Shinji couldn't quite hear what was said properly but he was fairly certain he heard the words 'say anything' and 'kill you.'

Still Shinji would much prefer feeling the embarrassment of Mari knowing that both he and Asuka had just made love in that locker room over the worried and sick feeling he had right now. That satisfied glow that he had been feeling after he and Asuka had gotten done sharing each others bodies was now gone, replaced by a feeling of dread.

"Hey, are you feeling alright?" Asuka asked as she propped herself up against the wall of the room, her gaze turning from him towards the door. It would have been obvious to her what he was feeling right now, knowing how he felt about the chance to seeing Misato again.

All Shinji could do was nod in response, fearful that if he opened his mouth he'd throw up.

Asuka sensing his discomfort gave a soft smile, as if trying to calm him, "Heh, Katsuragi sure knows how to pick her times right? I was kinda hoping we could go back to our quarters for round two."

He offered up the weakest of smiles. Going back to Asukas' quarters right now certainly sounded like a good idea. Even if it wasn't to make love, he would rather be doing anything than being sat here. It was the waiting that was killing him. The anticipation that at any moment Misato could walk through the door and something... anything would happen. He had to wonder just where Misato was and whether or not making him wait was some sort of tactic to wear him down.

He like out a sigh and gave the door another worried glance. It was just then that he felt a soft hand gently stroke his cheek. He looked up straight into Asukas' smiling face, her one eye fixed on him and full of sympathy.

"It's going to be alright Shinji."

"Thank you." He finally spoke and focused on the feel of Asukas' hand to try to calm himself down.

Mere moments later the door to the room finally opened and much to Shinjis' surprise it was not Misato who entered but instead it was a different woman. She was flanked by two guards and immediately Shinji knew by the way Asuka straightened herself up that whoever it was carried some importance.

The woman in question looked to be a couple of years younger than Misato. She was taller woman too with shoulder length black hair and Middle Eastern features. As she entered she placed a small laptop computer down on the table.

Shinji stood up and bowed politely to greet her but he kept his mouth shut for the moment. He felt the gaze of the two guards upon him as Asuka also edged herself nearer to him. Unsure of the correct procedure at a time like this he remained on his feet for the moment and just stared downwards.

Next to him Asuka finally spoke, "Director Pirani, I was not aware that you were onboard."

Shinji looked up again and saw the woman that Asuka had address smile, "I was not expecting to be here but upon hearing of the incident yesterday I was compelled to make the trip. You must be Shinji Ikari."

She turned towards Shinji as he nodded, "Y-Yes..."

"I'm very pleased to finally meet you Shinji, allow me to introduce myself. I am Aafa Pirani, one of the Directors of WILLE."

"D-Directors?" Shinji asked, turning to Asuka for an answer.

Asuka gave a nod, "Yes, one of the leaders of WILLE. Our organization is led by a committee of twelve directors. It was Director Pirani here who helped out with the Wunder project and also ensured Captain Katsuragi was put in charge. I also assume you approved the upgrades to Unit 02 as well?"

Piranis' smile widened, "That is correct."

Asuka continued, "Basically she's one of the good guys."

"I-I see." Shinji mumbled, still uncertain of what to say or do.

Pirani on the other hand gave a small laugh, "I'm sure that there are many others with a conflicting view of me right now based on some of my decisions but I do appreciate the compliment all the same."

"So why are you here? Do WILLE want something with Shinji?" Asuka asked her.

Pirani only shook her head, "My reason for being here is something of a personal one."

"Oh?" Questioned Asuka.

Pirani motioned to both of the guards, "The two of you may now leave."

Both guards looked at one another with some confusion. A moment later one of them started to protest, "But Director, we have been assigned to protect you. You are aware of who this is rig-"

Pirani raised a hand to silence the guard who had spoken and fixed him with a stern glare. Shinji on the other hand simple looked down at the floor again in shame as she spoke, "I am more than aware of who this is and I do not expect any harm will come to me. Please leave us."

For a moment it looked like the guard was about to protest further but eventually decided against it. Both he and his comrade turned and left as Pirani then turned her attention towards Asuka.

"Captain Shikinami, I must also ask the same of you. I trust that will not be a problem?"

Asuka gave a small shrug, "Not my call Director. If Shinji has a problem with it then I stay, if not then I leave."

"Very well. " Pirani turned towards Shinji, "Shinji, do you have an issue with this?"

Shinji looked at Asuka and then back to Pirani wondering what he should do. His first impression of the woman was that she certainly seemed nice. He got the impression of a somewhat more responsible version of the Misato he had known many years ago. The sort of person who could be like a big sister towards you but also be a strong leader just like Misato was.

He wondered if maybe this was some sort of act that Pirani was putting on but then Asuka seemed to have reacted well to her. Asuka had described her as one of the 'good guys.' If there was something for Shinji to worry about then would Asuka really have gone that far?

Shinji finally nodded, "That... would be fine."

"Good, Captain would you mind?"

Asuka shook her head, "If he is fine with it then so am I. Call me if I'm needed."

Asuka got half way towards the door before she was stopped by Pirani, "Captain Shikinami? I saw Pilot Makinami on my way here, she said she had something she wanted to discuss with you. It might be worth seeing her."

Asuka groaned, "Yeah... I bet she does."

XXX

"Well well well, there she is! I'm sorry you both didn't get the opportunity to enjoy the afterglow. The orders came in pretty quickly though." Mari spoke through a grin, clearly enjoying how uncomfortable she was making Asuka.

"How long were you out there for?" Asuka growled as she asked.

Mari shrugged, "Long enough, I didn't want to interrupt anything! It sounded like you were both having so much fun. I wanted to at least wait until you were done. Will admit I was kinda worried you both mig-" 

"Oh... shut up and get your mind out of the gutter!" Asuka quickly cut her off trying to shift the attention towards something else, "Why did you want to see me?"

"Well I was going to ask if maybe I could get in on your nex-"

"MARI!" Asuka snarled at her.

"But then of course I realized that'd be a very bad idea and I wouldn't even make a joke about that sort of thing because you and Shinji love each other and as you right said before I have Rei to worry about!" Mari said frantically, trying to get her words out before Asuka could close in and deliver a fist to the face.

Asuka backed away and leaned herself against the wall, "Hmph, so you're actually going to pursue things with Wondergirl then?"

Mari sighed, "I don't know yet. I mean I like her and I have to admit she's absolutely gorgeous. Even you have to admit that!"

"Well she is kinda cute." Asuka admitted, "Not really my type though."

"Yeah I figured. I'm just concerned about her I suppose."

"Mari Makinami concerned about someone? That'd be a first." Asuka laughed.

Mari's eyes opened wider as she shot Auska an expression that was akin to a puppy that had just been kicked, "Aww that's unfair Princess! You know I care about people, I'd never do anything to hurt someone!"

"Yeah I know, I know! It was just a joke and stop that with the eyes. You know I hate that. This doesn't really seem like you though, what's so different about Wondergirl that was different to say... me?"

Mari gave a small shrug, "I don't know, I guess what we had wasn’t really a proper relationship was it? It was just two friends who were there for one another when we needed it. We'd just call on one another when we needed it, yeah we spent a lot of time but it wasn't really what I want to Rei."

Asuka was a little bit surprised at how bluntly Mari had referred to their relationship. It was in many ways true but Mari had made it sound a lot colder than it actually was. It wasn't that Asuka didn't care for Mari at all, nor was she ungrateful for those times or used her it just wasn't what Asuka was looking for.

"Look Mari I..."

Mari cut her off and gave her a grin, "Don't worry about it, I know what you're going to say."

"Just as long as you know I do... well I do care for you right and those times we were together meant a lot to me too. I don't want you to think I used you or anything."

Mari waved her hands, "I know Princess, its fine. I know that you would never be able to do that unless there was something to it. It was at least good though... right?"

Asuka felt herself blush but she also couldn't help but smile, "Yeah... I guess. Not as good as Shinji though."

Asuka stuck out her tongue teasingly at Mari who replied with a smile of her own, "Don't say something you'll regret Princess, you know how competitive I am."

"Hah, whatever. Enough about that though, what's putting you off about Rei?"

“A few thing I suppose. I guess with her discovering who and what she is I wonder if it’s really wise.”

Asuka snickered, “Like you’ve ever cared about what was wise! Lest we forget that one of the first things I ever heard of you doing was parachuting into Tokyo-3 and hi-jacking MY Unit 02 without any authorization.”

Mari shrugged, “True… I’m just not really sure what to do.”

“Are you stupid? What do you want to do?”

Mari grinned, “Do you really want to know the answer to that?”

Asuka rolled her eye, if she had another that one would have joined it, “Urgh I should have known, any chance you could take your mind out of the gutter for maybe a second?”

Mari laughed, “Sorry. Well I’d like to see her more of course. I enjoy the time we spend together. I like talking to her, even if she doesn’t really say much. It’s kinda nice and it feels nice to just see her smile…”

Asuka studied her friend for just a moment as Mari trailed off. She wasn’t entirely sure of what she should say at a moment like this. Asuka wasn’t really the sort to give out advice on this kinda of subject. It was always something she left to someone like Mari or Katsuragi years ago, or even her old friend Hikari. Asuka was much better at yelling at people or helping them to improve their piloting. Of course she could handle giving advice to Shinji but that was different.

So she thought about what she might like to be told at this point in time or what she would be feeling if she was Mari. Slowly she began to realize something and a grin spread across her face, “You’re frightened aren’t you?”

“What? Of what? When have I ever been frightened?”

“It’s obvious, you know Rei is head over heels for you and you like her too but you’re thinking because Rei has suddenly started to learn what she is and who she is that she has only latched onto you because you’re the closest free thing. She knows that I and Shinji are off limits but here is this cool and exciting pretty Eva pilot and she falls for them. She saw the effects of love on me and Shinji and wonders what it might be like for herself.”

Asuka paused as she saw Mari turn her gaze towards the floor. She then continued to speak, “So really you’re just scared of being hurt. Scared that she might discover she doesn’t really like you or you’re just some experiment for her to run through and she can move on afterwards.”

“You’re being absurd.”

“Am I right though?”

“One hundred percent.” Mari admitted.

“Hah! I knew it.” Asuka beamed triumphantly.

“Alright whatever. Like you’re so good at this, ‘Mrs. I’ll punch a window through and say how much I hate the one I really love.’ They have words to describe people like you.”

“They probably have a few for you as well.”

“So what do I do?”

“Like I know the answer to that? Go and see her, talk to her and spend time with her. Do whatever you feel is right.” She paused considering the implications of that sentence, “On second thoughts maybe dial it back a bit, you don’t want to scare her off she might not be ready for your perversions just yet.”

Mari stuck out her tongue, “You can hardly talk, or have you suddenly forgotten about what I nearly caught you and Shinji doing earlier today?”

“I was just showing him some tactics he might find useful should he ever find himself in… an Eva again.”

XXX

Shinji finally sat himself back down and watched as Pirani also sat down on the chair opposite to him. It was strange but his nerves had now settled in comparison to earlier. Whilst what was happening was still scary for him, he strange found it less so than if Misato was here.

He wondered just why Pirani wanted to speak to him though. Maybe this was some sort of interrogation or the start of the process of him being punished for his actions. It was still unclear as to what would happen to him, whether he would be put on some sort of trial or punished.

“First of all I would just like you to know that if you are uncomfortable at any point during this we can end this. Do you understand?” Pirani asked him, her voice calming but also stern. It reminded Shinji very much of an old teacher he once had, the sort who demanded the best from students but always made themselves available for if anyone needed help. A part of Shinji regretted that he had never gone to see that teacher when he needed help.

 _‘Too late for that.’_ Shinji thought to himself in response to her remark about being uncomfortable. He allowed small smile to creep onto his lips before giving a nod, “I understand.”

"First of all I should..." She sighed, "I should probably start by extending an apology to you for what happened yesterday. What those people did was terrible and I am going to see to it personally that they are punished for their actions."

Before Shinji had even started to speak he regretted his words. He could already imagine the likes of Sakura and Asuka yelling at him for saying it, “Thank you, I’m… sorry for inconveniencing you… I…”

He caught himself and trailed off as he realized he probably shouldn't be apologizing. Pirani on the other hand was looking at him curiously. Like many she had only ever heard the stories about Shinji Ikari. Stories of this reluctant Evangelion pilot who was abandoned by his father shortly after his mothers death. The kid who was at the centre of the Near-Third Impact.

She had read files and had of course seen footage of not only that incident but other Angel battles and had naturally built up her own image of what he might be within her head. She in truth had not really known what to expect. This was the boy who had saved the world a number of times, the pilot of Evangelion Unit 01 and yet he seemed to timid and ordinary. He was certainly unlike Asuka or Mari.

She gave him a reassuring smile, "Shinji you don't have to apologize for anything. It's our job to do that to you. Those peoples actions were not befitting of people who belong to WILLE. No matter what you... or at least what people have perceived you as having done."

For a moment Shinjis' mind lingered on the word perceived, before he knew it he was looking up and talking, "But... I did do it... at least I did what they accused me of! I triggered those events, Asuka and Mari and the others I've spoken to told me about what I did. They told me that my actions that day triggering the Near Third changed the world and near ended it. Those people... lost their loved ones before of me..."

Pirani lowered her gaze upon hearing the sounds of grief in his voice. She already knew that Shinji must have gone through this sort of thing many times in his head over and over again. She couldn't even begin to imagine the weight of the guilt he must be feeling right now. Yet she had come here for a purpose, to hopefully help him lift some of that guilt he was carrying around.

"Can I ask you... Misato hasn't spoken to me since I returned and Asuka doesn't know but... what will happen to me?"

Pirani looked up and smiled, "Well Shinji, that's actually one fo the reasons I'm here right now. I'm afraid that my statement of being here for personal reasons wasn't quite accurate but this is a very delicate situation and I wanted to make sure it was just me and you here for now."

"O-Oh I see..."

"Part of the reason I am here is to discuss what is going to happen to you next but I'm also here to... discuss something else with you. For now, what will happen to you next."

She cleared her throat, "Since your return was confirmed myself and the other directors have been discussing in some detail what exactly should be done. As you are probably aware your situation is something of a unique one and it isn't one that can be handled quickly nor easily."

"I see..." He replied.

"For the moment it has been decided that the best thing for you would be to remain on board the Wunder. Captain Katsuragi has agreed to this and will attempt to find you a role in which you can contribute. We feel that considering you have already built up relationships with some of the crew it would probably be what you want as well, I also imagine that is what Asuka would want too."

Pirani shot him a knowing smirk as she mentioned Asukas' name. Shinji felt himself blush and lowered his gaze, "Y-You know about that then..."

"Yes we do know about it. Katsuragi had included it in one of her reports to us. This does depend on whether or not you are happy with these arrangements?"

"What if I'm not?" Shinji asked. In truth he was more than happy with those arrangements but he was intrigued as to what the alternative would be.

"Well then that would complicate matters but we would work to come to some sort of compromise. Ideally we want a solution that works for all parties involved. It really rests on what you want Shinji."

Shinji did take a brief moment to think about what he wanted. The ideal for him would of course to go back to how things used to be but he knew that was impossible. During his brief stay on the Wunder there had been a few possibilities mentioned to him. There had been the idea of him going through some sort of trial which was definitely not appealing to him.

The other option was to be given a new identity and a fresh start elsewhere. This didn't appeal to him either. He wanted to be with the people he knew and the girl he loved. He wanted to stay here, he had friends here, he had the closest thing he had left in this world to a family here in Rei and he had Asuka here.

Finally he gave his confirmation, "I want to stay here. I want to help in whatever way I can and... prove I'm not what those people think I am."

“And what is it that you think they say you are?” She asked.

Shinji shrugged, “I don’t know… they think I’m a murderer or some sort of monster. That I had a choice in what I did or something and did it on purpose and knew about it.”

Pirani nodded, “But you didn’t do it on purpose?”

Shinji looked up his eyes pleading, “Of course I didn’t! I didn’t know Unit 01 was capable of something like that. I just… I just wanted to save Rei! I never wanted to hurt anyone let alone plunge the world into… into what it is now. If I had have known then I would have tried to find another way to save her…”

Shinji stopped himself, realizing that he was getting a bit too emotional in front of what was a complete stranger. He calmed himself down before apologizing, “Sorry…”

He got another smile in response, “Its fine, I understand this can’t be easy for you. Barely any time has gone by since you were brought out of Unit 01s core.”

“Y-Yeah…”

_‘That’s an understatement… she probably doesn’t even know about what happened at NERV. Waking up, the world changing, father, Rei, Kaworu… It’s all too much sometimes.’_

"Shinji... this is the other reason I am here today. Up until now we thought we knew exactly what happened on that day. It has always been something of a mystery I'll admit but from the footage we had of the event along with the audio captured from Unit 01 it was... well you already can imagine."

Shinji nodded solemnly, "Yeah... I know."

"I can imagine Asuka has already told you that it wasn't just the Near-Third Impact that changed the world. The truth is that the Near-Third Impact was halted shortly after it started up, but it had already done enough damage to upset the infrastructure of the world both environmentally and politically. Soon afterwards we saw counties going against the treaties they had signed, we saw them openly experimenting with Eva based technology and not only threatening the world but slowly changing it into what we know now."

Shinji felt sick at what she was saying, "I-I... I'm to blame for all that?"

Pirani shook her head, "The Near-Third Impact scared people, they felt that NERV was a threat that had to be eliminated and seeing the power of the Eva prompted them to try to create their own Evangelion based super weapons. Yes the Near-Third was destructive but... not compared to what humanity did afterwards."

"T-That doesn't matter though! If I hadn't have started it..."

"Which is one of the points of this conversation. When you arrived in Neo-London yesterday myself and another two directors received something that might... put things in a new light so to speak. We are still investigating it now and knowledge of it is very limited."

"D-Does Misato know?"

Pirani shook her head, "No she doesn't. I did however feel that it was only right to tell you considering it concerns you directly."

"I-I see... but how can it help. I mean I did trigger the Near-Third Impact so I don't understand..."

"That is what we are investigating. Shinji I need you to tell me everything okay? I need to know about the days leading up to you piloting Evangelion Unit 01 against that Angel and I also need to know all about what happened in Unit 01 itself leading up until you waking up on the Wunder."

"B-But you have reports don't you?" Shinji protested, not really wishing to dredge up those memories again.

"Yes we do but they only paint one small part of the picture. We need your perspective to complete it. Please Shinji, I need to know everything."

Shinji felt himself tense up again as she made her request. He made an attempt to cast his mind back to those moments in time. Trying to uncover every painful memory of those few days. From the incident with the Dummy Plug system and Asuka being injured, to making the decision to leave NERV and then having to come back due to the Angel attack.

All those memories of this other time and place were resurfacing. For these people it was so long ago and yet for him it was barely weeks ago. He could remember the trips he took by train, the conversations he had and the emotions he felt. So Shinji took a deep breath and began to tell his story.

XXX

Mari was not used to feeling nervous, it was just not something that she had ever felt. Even as she had stared death in the face through Angel battles, breaking into restricted areas or hijacking Evangelions she had not felt it. Instead she always had a healthy optimism, a belief that things would always go right in the end and therefore nothing for her to be afraid of.

Feeling nervous was therefore a relatively new sensation for her. She didn’t like the feeling one little bit, it felt like little insects were running around inside her stomach.

_‘Oh come on Mari! You’re just asking her if she would like to go on a date! It isn’t as if there is anything more to it than that. You’ve been on dates before with people… no wait actually that was dinner with Asuka and it wasn’t really a date was it… Oh just get in there will you!’_

Mari pressed the button on the side of the door and a moment later it slid open. Mari stepped inside and looked around, there was no sign of Rei as of yet. So Mari moved over to one of the couches and waited.

Reis' had been granted basic quarters on one of the lower decks of the ship. They were the same quarters that most of the staff on board the ship were assigned. A small living area that combined with a kitchen space. A door leading off to a bathroom and another door leading off to a bed room. The kitchen doubled as a dining area with a small bar area set up with two stools for seating.

Mari couldn't help but feel they were somewhat cramped, especially in comparison to the quarters the Evangelion pilots had or the senior staff but this was just the way of things. She supposed it was better than the cell Rei had been staying in previously.

Rei finally entered the living space from her bedroom. Mari couldn't help but smile when she saw what Rei was wearing. Jeans, with a light blue t-shirt with a small cartoon rabbit on it. It was the one that Mari had picked out for Rei yesterday during their little trip into the city. It fit Rei perfectly and for a moment Mari was lost gazing at Reis' figure.

She was quickly brought back to attention when Rei spoke, "Pilot Maki-… Mari, I apologize for being late. I was not dressed when you called so I went to put some clothes on."

Maris' couldn't help but give a small smile at that mental image. She quickly stashed it to one side, her mind wandering like that would not help in this situation.

"Ah its no problem, I wouldn't have minded." She gave a slight wave of the hand and immediately regretted what she had said. If Rei had taken it the wrong way she gave no indication of it. Instead she gave a slight nod.

"I will keep that in mind for the future."

A silence fell upon the two as Mari wondered what to say next. Wondering if she should just come out with what she had come here to do or make some sort of small talk instead. It was strange but previous days she had been out right Rei she had not had any sort of issue talking to the girl. Although that was usually a case of Mari excitedly pointing at something and Rei following along. This was different, this was more serious.

"I must apologize if this is awkward for you, I am not yet used to proper interaction with others and I am still learning."

Mari gave a sympathetic look, "I can imagine it must be tough for you, coming from NERV to this. Dealing with all of these people and that city yesterday."

"It is not an easy process. Even as my memories of my previous life returned I realize that I still have so much to learn. Previously I would not have thought about putting on clothes in case of having a visitor, it was only when I remembered an incident from that time that I realized others may be awkward."

Mari laughed, "Dare I ask about the incident?"

"Ikari had been tasked with delivering an ID card to me, when he arrived at my apartment I did not have clothes on. I suppose I was, naïve and ended up making him very uncomfortable."

Mari snorted with laughter, "I can just imagine his face now."

Rei gave a small smile as she thought about Shinjis’ reaction on that day. She had not meant to make Shinji uncomfortable by appearing before him like that she had simply not known it would have made him uncomfortable. Looking back on it now though she did find the situation slightly funny, "It was amusing. I know it was embarrassing for him though."

“You didn’t feel embarrassed at all though?”

Rei shook her head, “At that time no, I did not know any reason to be embarrassed. It was just my body and my upbringing did not lead me to think about how others perceive me in various states.”

Mari laughed, “How would you feel if it happened now?”

“Shinji is my brother, so I would not feel any shame. I know however he would be uncomfortable with it.” Rei admitted.

“Brother huh? That must be weird… having family all of a sudden like that. So much has changed for you.”

“It is… not ideal. I have had to learn a great deal quickly and I fear I have much more to learn but I have… very good teachers. You in particular have been a great help.”

“I’m honoured you think of me in that way.”

_‘Come on Mari… stop with the small talk just ask her out will you!’_

A silence fell upon them as Mari waged war inside her head over asking Rei out. Rei was still learning so much about herself and it was clear it wasn’t an easy process. She wondered if maybe it would be too much for them.

“Pilot Maki- Mari…” Rei corrected herself, getting used to addressing people by their first name was still an ongoing process.

“Yes.”

“I was wondering… I am afraid I do not really know the correct words in this situation but since meeting you I have… certain things for you. I do not know the correct protocol but I was wondering if you would like… to go on a date with me?”

Mari for one of the first times in her life found herself stunned into silence. She was almost annoyed that Rei had asked the question before she had done, and yet relieved that she no longer had to ask. She glanced down at the ground and felt herself blush. She found herself now waging another battle in her head, to not just leap up and yell ‘Yes’ but to not underplay her enthusiasm.

It was however Rei who broke the silence, “I am sorry, did I make you uncomfortable?”

Mari shook her head, “No not at all! I was just… you surprised me that’s all. I was going to… well in answer to your question, yes I would like that and I have the perfect place!”

Rei smiled as Mari stood up, “Hmm… it’ll be tricky. Misato has kinda put a bit of a stopper on people leaving the ship for now but I can probably get us out. That is if you’re…” Mari stopped herself as she looked at Rei. She thought maybe it’d be a good idea to dial down the recklessness. Rei had just been given new quarters and it would be a shame to do something to jeopardize that.

_‘But… there is nothing to do on the ship and… the pizza in that place is reaaaaaaaally good. Maybe I can get Asuka to cover for me, she’d do that for me right?’_

“If I am what?”

“Well… we’re not really supposed to leave the ship but I’m owed a favour and can get us out. It’s just… if we are caught…”

“I would like to attempt it.”

“Really, you could get into trouble?”

Rei gave a nod, “I trust you, and I would like… to go on a proper date with you.”

Mari couldn’t help but grin, “In which case follow me Blue! Let’s get off of this ship!”

XXX

Pirani listened carefully to Shinji as he told his story. She took care to not interrupt him at any point and to let him speak at his own pace. If he needed more time to collect himself she would allow it, and if at any point he seemed to be getting emotional she let him. If there seemed to be something he didn't want to say she did not press him, this was entirely about letting him talk.

The first part of his story had concerned the ninth Angel. He described how Asuka had volunteered to take part in the activation test for Evangelion Unit 03 and something had gone wrong. Somehow the Evangelion Unit had been contaminated and took over the Angel. He told her how he had been unable to do anything in the situation for fear of hurting Asuka.

From there he told her how helpless he felt when the Dummy System was activated and all he could do was sit in darkness and listen to the sounds of Evangelion Unit 01 tearing Unit 03 to pieces.

As part of her job she had of course seen the footage of that particular battle. She had seen the footage of most of the Angel battles that were available to her. The fight against the ninth was disturbing. Whilst she found, as did many, the Evangelions themselves to be unnerving at least there was always the knowledge of a human being in control.

For the battle against the ninth it was easy to see this wasn't true. The Dummy System was in some way a stroke of genius. A method of having the Evangelion do what was needed without requiring a pilot. Yet the way it executed its task, with extreme ruthlessness and no consideration for anything else was terrifying.

"And so you made the decision to leave NERV?" Pirani asked him, her first time speaking since Shinji had started to tell his story.

Shinji nodded solemnly, "Yes. I know that... I could have done more now. If I had tried I could have got the Entry Plug out of there and helped Asuka and... I understand why they had to use the Dummy System as well but it didn't have to go that far... he... my father... he went too far. Asuka could have died."

"So what happened next?"

Shinji continued to speak, telling of how he thought about going to see Asuka in the hospital but decided not to. He didn't deserve to see her after letting her down like that and besides there was little he could do for her.  She had to be located in a special facility for her recovery.

From there he told her that he made the decision to leave NERV. It was a simple decision for him to make, he could no longer stand to be around a group of people that allowed Asuka to get hurt like that. He could no longer stand to be around his father who let it happen.

"But... I also didn't think I deserved to do it anymore. I knew afterwards I could have done more and I didn't. I ended up hurting someone and no one else cared so... I left." He said softly.

"But you didn't end up leaving completely?"

Shinji shook his head, "MIsato tried to persuade me to stay but she couldn't. I left on the morning but on my way out of the city another Angel attacked. I thought about going straight to NERV but... I wasn't an Eva pilot anymore so instead I went to a shelter."

He carried on speaking, describing how he felt when he was around the others in the shelter. Describing the fear he felt as he could hear the battle raging outside and wondering if this was what all of the others inside felt during an Angel attack. He even described the little bit of pride he felt when he saw the few people trying to allay other people’s fears, saying how this had happened before and the Evangelion pilots always came through and they would this time.

"That must have been strange, hearing people talk that way about you but none of them knowing who you were."

He nodded and gave a slight smile, "I think a few of them knew but no one mentioned anything. It was unusual, when we were out in our Eva's the focus was on defeating the Angel and making sure no one got hurt. I never really thought of what the people in the shelters were thinking or feeling at the time, only that I didn't want them to die."

Once again he continued this time going on to describe how during one point of the battle the wall in the shelter came crashing down and he saw the form of Unit 02. At first he thought he might have slipped into a bad dream and this was going to be some nightmare sent to punish him. He turned out to not be a dream and instead a voice from the Unit spoke to him, prompting him to return to try to help.

"That was Mari Makinami?"

He grinned, "Yeah, I didn't know her then though, I had met her once but that was about it. I don't know how she got into Unit 02 but... she got me to at least try."

Pirani smirked, "Well her acquisition of Unit 02 is of dubious legality, let’s just say Mari had a few friends scattered around that arranged that for her. So then you returned to NERV?"

"Yeah, when I got back I saw my father hadn't activated Unit 01 yet, apparently he couldn't. It kept on rejecting the Dummy Plug and he might have even tried to use Rei in it but wasn't able to. So I begged to be allowed to pilot it and... He let me. I went out and started to fight the tenth Angel."

"That was where things... went wrong right?"

Shinji nodded, "Yeah... at first it was... I managed to get it out of NERV headquarters and back up into the Geofront. I had seen what it had done to the others so I tried to defeat it quickly but I ran out of power during the battle..."

Shinji trailed off trying to gather himself, "I don't know what happened.... but I had seen it take Ayanami and I just.... I felt something. I just knew I had to get her back, I couldn't lose someone ever again. I had to get her back and somehow the Eva recognized that... it reactivated."

I started to fight the Angel again, I was able to tear through its A.T. Field and I just… I was so focused on getting Ayanami back. I felt this strange feeling, I had never felt it before when piloting it was like my entire body was on fire…”

Shinji paused and wiped at his now watering eyes.

“We can stop if you need to Shinji.” Pirani said to him gently.

“No, it’s just… thinking about it from my end and what others must have seen happening. I didn’t know what I was doing. I was so focused on getting her back, I kept hitting the Angel over and over again. I could feel every bit of the Evas power, it was so different to every other time I piloted, it felt like me and Eva were really one and the same. I could hear the others yelling over the radio to stop. They said if I pushed it any further I might not even be human anymore…”

“You kept going though?”

Shinji sniffed, “I said… I didn’t care about what happened to me and I didn’t care about what happened to the world I just wanted Ayanami back, I couldn’t stand to lose a friend… another loved one because of me…”

Shinji put his head in his hands and felt the tears run down his cheek. Pirani immediately stood up and placed a hand on his back rubbing it softly.

“I didn’t want to hurt anyone.” He said, trying to stifle his sobs, “I just wanted to save her. I don’t even know how I was able to do what I did or why. I was just somehow able to see her and I knew if I got through I’d have her back.”

Shinji paused and looked up at Pirani, “It hurt so much. It felt like my skin was burning as I broke through but I got her and pulled her out into the Entry Plug… I saved Ayanami.”

Pirani nodded solemnly, “Shinji, this is really important. Do you remember anything after that?”

Shinji wiped his eyes again and nodded slowly, “Yeah… I remember feeling immense pain. Like I was being stabbed through the chest. I think I screamed out and then everything went black. The next thing I remember was hearing Asuka call out to me before I woke up here.”

Pirani looked at him, and offered him a tissue from a box that had been placed on the table and then pouring him a glass of water. Shinji took both, wiped his eyes and sipped gently from the water. To her surprise he actually seemed to be smiling.

“I-I haven’t told anyone what happened that day yet. Not even Asuka.”

“Do you feel better for it?”

“A little bit, I just… I never meant to hurt anyone.”

“I know you didn’t, and believe me what you’ve told me just now has been very helpful.”

“R-Really? How?” Shinji asked.

“That final detail, the pain you felt in your chest. Tell me, why do you think you felt that?”

Shinji shrugged, “I-I don’t know… usually if something hurt the Eva then I’d feel the pain that it would feel as well. So if I felt like I was being stabbed then something must have stabbed the Eva?”

“Exactly, Shinji… the footage we have of what happened that day does not show any thing attacking Unit 01 after you got Ayanami back. In fact up until now all we had was footage that cut out as soon as you got Ayanami back. At first we thought it was interference from everything that was happening, it would make sense.”

“R-Right…”

“Let me tell you what people remember, they remember you getting Ayanami back and then there was a flash of light which we call the start of the Near Third-Impact. Everyone in a radius of a number of miles was knocked unconscious at this point. When they awoke Unit 01 had vanished and the Near-Third Impact was still happening.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“What I’m about to show you has only just been sent to us, you are one of only a few people to see this. This is why the last thing you told me was so important.”

Pirani opened up a small laptop that she had brought into the room with her earlier and loaded a video file onto it. It was grainy camera footage, taken from some point in the Geofront, a fair distance from the battle. On it he could make out the form of Unit 01.

“This is the point in which you get Ayanami back.” She pointed at the screen as Unit 01 seemed to mimic his own actions inside the Evangelion. He watched as a figure was pulled from the core of the Angel and immediately seemed to turn into the nude form of Rei Ayanami. His mouth opened in shock as he couldn’t quite believe what he was witnessing.

Above the Unit he could see the terrifying portals that signified the start of the Near-Third Impact. Around Unit 01 rubble and debris circled.

“Oh god… I… I had no idea…” Shinji muttered as he felt the tears threaten once more. Suddenly there was a bright flash of light.

“It was after this that everyone was knocked unconscious and we lost all the video feeds. Even the one from this camera was lost, except as you can see… it was still recording. Someone tampered with it.”

Shinji nodded and continued to watch. The look of shock on his face only grew as he suddenly saw another figure at the top of the Geofront. It slowly descended to a point before suddenly rearing back and throwing a lance like object down towards Evangelion Unit 01, piercing it through the chest.

“T-That just…”

Pirani looked towards Shinji, “Yes… it was. Except no one saw this happen, no one remembers it happening and up until now we didn’t even know it happened. At first I thought this might be a fake, some sort of clever alteration but now I know it’s real.”

“How?”

“Because you told me. You said you felt something pierce you through the chest. You also said that you felt the same pain that the Evangelion feels.”

The events on the screen continued to unfold. Shinji watched as Unit 01 dropped to the ground lifeless after being pierced by this lance. Immediately afterwards the strange otherworldly portals sealed themselves up and the only life that remained was this errie new Evangelion Unit descending to the ground.

The feed then stopped as Shinji felt his hands clench into a fist, “T-They stopped it.”

“It was at least another hour and a half before the others woke up. We don’t know what happened in that hour but yes, it looks like that lance piercing Unit 01 stopped the Near-Third Impact.”

“B-But I thought I…”

“Until now as did we. Only now it seems that someone has pulled the wool over the world’s eyes and I intend to find out who.”

Shinji was overwhelmed, unsure as to whether or not he would wake up from this and it’d be revealed to be some weird dream or if perhaps it was some practical joke. He wanted to smile and laugh at it, the realizing that maybe things weren’t his fault but he couldn’t quite believe it yet.

“I don’t… understand. If someone stopped it then why… did the world change so much? What happened to that Eva and the lance…”

“We don’t know. The identity of that Evangelion and its pilot are a mystery. When people awoke and the teams arrived back on the scene they found the portals open still and there was definitely no lance. Unit 01 had been completely shut down and a few moments later the portals shut themselves down, not before causing some of the destruction and putting into motion the events you believed yourself to be at fault for.”

“I… I don’t know what to say…”

“Shinji, I know you must be feeling many things right now. I’d advise you keep this to yourself for the moment until we have a chance to investigate. I appreciate you will want to tell Asuka of what has happened. I will handle informing Katsuragi. There is something rotten in this world, the fewer people that know of this the better for now. Are you alright with that?”

Shinji thought about it for a moment. He didn’t like to keep secrets, especially something like this but he understood her reasoning and it wasn’t like he was unable to tell anyone. At least he could tell Asuka. He only wondered how she would react to this. His heart was pounding in his chest, he wanted to scream, to cry and laugh all at once. Finally he nodded, “Yeah… I… I understand.”


	11. The Call

Shinjis' head was still spinning by the time he got back to Asukas' quarters after his meeting with Pirani. His head was a mixed bag of emotions and he wasn't sure quite how to feel. He wondered if maybe he should be angry. That would make sense in this situation. Even before this he still had moments where he felt angry at everything that had happened. He was angry with a number of people, himself included. Yet Asuka helped him suppress that, she was there for him to calm him.

So he thought maybe he should feel happy or elated at what he had been shown. For some reason he couldn't bring himself to be happy just yet. Maybe it was because there was still a large amount of uncertainty surrounding the whole thing.

Sure enough he had learned that something else had happened on that day but the more he thought about it the more he wondered what it really changed. There was still the fact that the process was started by him. Maybe someone had interfered in that process, what he had been shown seemed to confirm that but also what if they just delayed it anyway?

No matter how much he wanted to be optimistic about it his mind always scrambled to the negative. Maybe it was for the best that he didn't get his hopes up, after all where had being optimistic ever gotten him in the past? He had built himself up a number of times in the past only to end up being hurt.

_'Maybe I just need to talk to Asuka about it… she'll know what to say to me. She'll make me feel better about it.'_

Memories of the morning were also still fresh in his mind too. Being in the simulator against Asuka had been an interesting experience. It had almost been fun until he had hesitated. It seemed stupid as he looked back on it. Yet as he was about to deliver that blow to the back of the simulated Unit 02 the thought of what had happened during the Unit 03 incident had flashed through his mind. He thought about how his inaction had left Asuka battered and bruised with her life hanging by a thread.

As he wandered over the window he caught a glimpse of his own reflection. Some colour had returned to his cheeks. He at least felt better now than he had done earlier. He had to admit getting some of that baggage off of his chest to Pirani had made him feel a little bit better. He still had so much whirring around inside of him but the load had been lightened a little bit.

_'I need to move forward, Asuka… she forgave me for what happened those years ago and what I was shown might be a good thing. I can't just keep going in circles like this, it won't help anything.'_

With those thoughts he decided the best thing to do would be to take his mind off of things until Asuka returned. He sat himself down in front of the television and booted up the console sat underneath it. Maybe a few hours spent playing games would be just what he needed for now.

XXX

Rei smiled to herself as she walked alongside Mari. It had been a pleasant afternoon for their date. There was still a little bit of a chill in the air but the sun shone down amidst the streets of Neo-London, the light reflected off of the river under the bridge they were now walking across. The two of them came to a stop and Mari leaned herself against the railing.

"Hey Blue, come over here!"

Rei nodded obediently and walked silently to Maris' side. Mari pulled a mobile phone out of her pocket and put her other arm around Rei pulling her towards them, "Smile Blue!"

Rei looked towards the screen of the phone as Mari held it up and got the angle correct placing them both within the centre. Behind them was the river flowing on through the middle of the city, along one side were a series of buildings made up to look like the parliament buildings of old London. The phone clicked as Mari took the photo and slipped the phone back into her pocket before she turned to look out over the river.

Rei joined her and the two looked out silently. Rei tentatively put her hand up on the railing and almost immediately Mari seized upon it, putting her own hand on top and intertwining their fingers. Rei felt a blush on her cheeks as she enjoyed the warmth from Maris' hand.

For now she wondered what she should say or do. Up until this moment there had always been some sort of activity. They had set off from the Wunder and went straight to a restaurant that Mari had recommended. The food there was good, and they had a sizeable vegetarian option which was a little bit overwhelming for Rei. She was not really used to having a choice in such things, generally all she was used to was a basic salad or the ration paste that was used in NERV.

From there they had went and done a small spot of shopping. Neither had bought anything but it had been fun for Rei to look through an array of clothes and watch Mari excitedly try on outfits or try to educate Rei on the right sort of music to listen to. Rei made a note to make sure to ask Shinji and Asuka for their recommendations when she saw them next before making a purchase. A basic allowance had been discussed by Akagi for Rei, so hopefully that shouldn't be far off.

She turned her head to look at Mari, her eyes full of life as they looked out from behind her red rimmed glasses. Her brunette hair gently swaying in the gentle breeze around them. Rei was captivated, Mari was so… pretty.

Rei just enjoyed being in the girls presence. There was so much to Mari she liked. Her energy and excitability. Mari always seemed to be smiling and enthusiastic about something. She always seemed so playful and had this little air of danger about her. She was kind and easy to get along with always seeming to make an effort to try to lighten the mood and make others smile. Rei wondered just what Mari thought about her.

_'Compared to her… I am nothing. I barely have my own identity because of what he did to me. I do not know what to say or do in these situations. I do not know if I should smile or if I should hold her hand. I do not know if I should make a suggestion of where to go next to try to kiss her. I know nothing.'_

"Hey what's up Blue? Something on your mind?" Mari interrupted Reis' thoughts with a question that clearly indicated the ideas bothering Rei were showing on her face.

"I must apologize… I am not good at this. I regret that I asked you on this date yet I do not really know what I am doing."

Mari gave a laugh, "Ah, well are you enjoying yourself?"

Rei nodded, "Very much so."

"Well I'm enjoying myself too, that's all that matters."

"But I am unsure of what to do next, I do not know protocols at a time like this or what I should mmph"

Rei nearly lost her balance as she was suddenly cut off by Mari quickly moving forward and pressing her lips up against hers. She offered no resistance but instead enjoyed the sensation on her lips as Maris' hands came to rest softly on Reis' hips. Rei took one trembling hand and mimicked the action holding tentatively onto Maris hips.

After a short time Mari pulled away and smiled as Rei felt her cheeks glow a burning red, "I… I do not… I did not… That was…"

Mari grinned as she held onto both of Reis' hands and listened to the girl stumble over her words, "Asuka will probably kill me for being that forward but you liked it?"

Rei nodded, "Yes… it was very pleasant."

That earned a giggle from Mari, "I'm glad you thought so. There aren't really any rules for this Rei. People wrote guides and books about it but in truth as long as you and the other person are enjoying yourselves then it doesn't matter what you do. It can be what you want it to be, think we're doing too much then say, think we're not doing enough then say."

"I see, I think I understand. In which case there is something I would like to do."

Mari raised a curious eyebrow, "Oh really and what would tha- mmph"

She was soon cut off by the kiss from Rei. As the two enjoyed the kiss Mari felt a little twinge of happiness and pride within her.

_'You learn fast Blue, this is going to be fun.'_

XXX

Asuka gazed up at the screens displaying the contents of the simulation in which the TARKUS pilots were currently being put through. It was a simple battle simulation, two teams of twelve set against each other on a basic battlefield. This sort of simulation was more of a game than anything else, much like Asuka the pilots didn't have much of a reason to be here today but dedication to their mission kept them coming. No one knew when the next attack could come, so spending at least an hour a day improving yourself could help.

On the screen she watched as two Units clashed into one another. They seemed to dance around each other for an amount of time, neither too sure of what the to. Finally without any warning one of the Units, a red one dashed forward and aimed a punch at the blue one. Nimble the punch was dodged by the blue unit and it reacted instantly by bringing down its progresive knife onto the back of the red units neck.

Sparks flew as the knife collided with the steel of the machine and slowly slid its way through. Finally the head of the unit was severed from the body and the first elimination of the match was gained.

One of the simulation pod doors open and out stepped a clearly embarrassed and young looking pilot. He looked ready to slink away quietly when he noticed Asuka. She wondered if maybe she should step in, but before she could do anything a look of disdain spread across his face as he caught her eye. She was sure she saw him shake his head as he turned and walked away.

Her body twitched with anger as she resisted an urge to go over and slap him. Unfortunately this was something she was slowly having to get sued to. People speaking in hushed tones or giving her dirty looks as she walked around the ship. It hadn't affected her work with the cadets yet but she had a feeling that things might come to a head soon.

She should really have expected it. As news of her relationship with Shinji had spread and been made public there was bound to be a few people who had a negative reaction to it. She would have to keep this news away from Shinji and perhaps have a stern word with some of the others around here to get this sorted out.

"Captain Shikinami, I didn't expect to see you here."

Asuka turned towards the source of the voice and found Maya standing near to her, a clipboard in hand. She seemed to be looking at Asuka with a similar look of disdain as the cadet had done. Of course it was hard to tell with Maya whether or not that was her standard expression or because she disliked you. Maya was one of those who had changed significantly since the Near-Third, perhaps more than most of them.

The only time Asuka had ever seen Maya smile was when she was with was a far cry from the woman Asuka used to hear guide her through launch procedures in NERV many years ago. Near Third Impact had hardened her. It had turned her into a different person, one that Asuka knew, had an immense dislike for Shinji Ikari.

Asuka tried to ignore that thought, "I'm not here officially, I had some spare time and wanted to see how they were doing."

"They are doing fine for the moment." Maya responded, "We are running some basic combat games. Katsuragi had ordered time off for them but they wished to do something so we settled on this. Especially now that going into the city is off limits for them."

Asuka nodded, "Yes I heard. A lesson in how one group can ruin it for many others."

"It wouldn't have happened if he wasn't allowed out in the first place. Katsuragi was irresponsible and now I've lost one of my top officers." Maya stated bluntly much to Asukas' surprise.

Asuka made an effort to remain calm, despite feeling her body start to tremble with anger, "Top officer or not, he should have known better. The only irresponsible one was him for being an idiot. We don't need people like that on this crew."

"Yet there are many more on this crew that have similar feelings. Despite what you or Katsuragi might think about that boy he is dangerous, and there will be more attempts like that if he is allowed to continue being on board. I told Katsuragi about this and I wa-"

"Are you making a threat towards him Ibuki?" Asuka asked, straightening herself up and staring a hole directly into the woman.

"No, I'm giving out a warning. As long as he remains here, as long as he goes unpunished for his actions then he puts us at risk and we risk more attempts like the one before. How long do you think it'll be before someone else tries it? Just because you're so loved up with him doesn't mean you can protect him forever."

"I'll keep that in mind, do excuse me." Asuka clenched her hand into a fist as she moved forward. She barged her way past Maya but not before speaking again, "You people... you don't understand anything about us."

XXX

"Pilot Makinami!"

Mari froze up as she heard her name being called by an instantly recognizable voice. She felt her hand tighten in Rei's as the two of them turned towards the source of the voice. Each degree of movement Mari was praying that she had misheard and it wasn't really her name being called, nor would it be that person.

Unfortunately for Mari it was that person and she was about to be in a lot of trouble.

"Ah Akagi, it's wonderful to see you out today. We were just out for a walk!" Mari beamed as Ritsuko gave the two of them a very unimpressed stare.

"I can see that. You do realize that movement to and from the Wunder at this moment in time is prohibited as a result of yesterday's incident?"

"Oh is it?"

"You know full well it is. You are however fortunate that it was me who caught you both and not Katsuragi. All things considered she is not in the best of moods today." Ritsuko said as she pulled a carton of cigarettes out of her pocket. She moved towards the bridge, lighting it up at the same time and taking a small drag and blowing the smoke out away from the two girls.

"I will overlook this for the moment Mari but yo-

Rei suddenly stepped forward, interrupting Ritsuko mid-sentence, "Actually, I must apologize. It was my fault, I asked Pilo- Mari if she would like to go out with me today."

Ritsuko shot her a curious glance and then looked towards a grinning Mari. She frowned and shook her head, "You asked Mari for this?"

Rei nodded, "Yes. I wished to go on a date with Mari and there were no suitable locations on the ship. When the idea of coming into the city was brought up Mari was initially against it but I was the one who persuaded her. I am the one at fault here."

Ritsuko blew out another cloud of smoke towards the river. She almost wanted to laugh at Rei's little rebellious streak. It would certainly be something of a kick in the face to Gendo to see his precious little experiment acting in such a way.

_'At least Rei confessed to it being her idea. It's sweet, she is starting to find happiness in others and that desire to be around someone else.'_

She resisted that urgh to laugh and instead fixed her gaze on the two of them.

"I see. I presume that it was Mari who managed to get the two of you off of the ship without triggering any alerts though?"

Rei did not say anything to that but Mari nodded, confessing to her infraction, "Yeah... I did but there was someo-"

Ritsuko held up a hand, "I don't want to hear about anyone else being involved in this. I won't report this to Katsuragi. Can you get yourself back onto the ship without triggering any alerts?"

Mari nodded, "Of course."

"Then do it, I do however expect the two of you to report to me tomorrow. I have a task that nee-"

Once again Ritsuko was cut off mid-sentence. This time it was not by either Mari or Rei speaking but by the sudden sound of sirens filling the air. Everything around the three of them seemed to stop as confused pedestrians also looked around for the source of whatever had triggered these sirens.

Ritsuko pulled a communications device out of her pocket and tapped in a code, "Akagi to Wunder Command... what is going on?"

Mari and Rei watched as she listened for a few moments and nodded, "I see. I'm with Pilot Makinami now, I'll get her there right away."

Mari looked up at her confused. Rei on the other hand was looking towards the edge of the city. From here she could see the route back to where the Wunder was docked and the sides of the wall that surrounded Neo-London. She was about to ask what was happening when pain shot through her head.

She collapsed to her knees, screaming out as a warm hand gently placed itself around her shoulders.

"Rei, are you alright?" Mari knelt down to try to catch a glimpse of Rei's face. All Rei could do was shake her head.

"N-No... there is... s-something..."

Mari looked up, "Akagi, what's happening to her?"

Ritsuko wrapped an arm around Rei and slowly helped her up to her feet, "No time to explain. Makinami, get to the Wunder immediately and get to Unit 02. They've spotted an Angel."

"B-But what about Rei?"

"I'll deal with Rei, just go!"

Mari shot Rei a concerned glance and seemed to hesitate for a moment, "M-Mari... please... you have to... Asuka needs you."

Mari nodded, "Fine... we'll go and kick its ass then!"

Rei was able to look up just in time to see Mari turn and start to sprint towards the Wunder. Pain shot through her head once again and she screamed out. Ritsuko's grip tightened on her, preventing her from falling to the ground.

"I-I am sorry... Doctor Akagi. If I hadn't have... aske-"

Ritsuko ignored the apology for the moment and the two slowly started to walk towards the Wunder. Ritsuko frowned with each step trying to work out what had happened to Rei.

_'She's reacting to the Angel being nearby. This happened with the last one... god damn it Gendo what the hell have you done to her?'_

XXX

Asuka turned to glare at her friend as Mari climbed into the cockpit of the entry plug, "You're late four-eyes! Where the hell were you?"

Mari smiled and adjusted the wrists of her plugsuit, "You know me princess, always like to keep them waiting. Had a bit of trouble getting back on board the ship. You know how it is, you sneak off for a date and then an Angel shows up and suddenly everything's gone to hell!"

Asuka couldn't help but laugh, "You actually snuck off the ship with Rei? Oh god, maybe telling you to ask her out wasn't such a great idea."

Mari shrugged, "Well it was actually her who asked me for the date. It was going really well too... Until Ritsuko showed up and then this Angel."

Asuka shook her head, "Yeah well tell me about it later, it looks like we've got an Angel to kill."

LCL started to fill the plug as Mari settled herself into her seat and started tapping away at the console in front of her activating the various displays that would aid her in supporting Asuka. A moment later the giant holographic map was shown in front of her, directly behind them she would see the city of Neo-London. Towards the north of the map was a blinking red dot indicating the threat.

Misato's voice then came over the radio,  _"Asuka, Mari this is what we know so far. The Angel emerged from the channel a short while ago and has been moving swiftly towards Neo-London. A scout drone was sent out and immediately destroyed, also confirming it as the next Angel in the process."_

"So intercept it and destroy it, sounds simple enough." Asuka nodded.

_"Exactly but be warned, the Wunder will be unable to provide any support during the operation. For the moment we are completely grounded. We will however be sending out a small squadron of TARKUS Units and Neo-London has their defence systems too. It isn't much but it will help. Good luck out there."_

Asuka nodded again and confidently gripped her controls, "No problem Katsuragi. Evangelion Unit 02 is ready to launch. You okay back there four-eyes?"

"Always ready when it comes to you Princess, let's do this."

There was a sudden jolt as both pilots felt the Entry Plug being slowly screwed into place within the Evangelion's body. Around them the solid silver wall changed colour a number of times before finally showing the world from the eyes of the Evangelion.

"Sooo... I forgot to ask earlier, did you win?" Mari asked.

"Huh?"

"Against Shinji, did you beat him?"

Realizing what Mari was talking about Asuka nodded and flashed her a smile, "Are you stupid? Of course I beat him!"

Mari laughed before reaching down and victoriously patting her friend on the back, "I Bet it was a close call though, not quite as close as you got afterwards tho-"

"Now is not the time Mari!" Asuka cut her off quickly and pulled back on the Evangelion's controls, "Evangelion Unit 02 Launch!"

XXX

Rei was doing her best to stifle it but she was no longer able to. Her hands went to her head and she let out an ear splitting scream as the pain became unbearable. She felt like someone was slicing their way through her, from her neck upwards. Every now and then it would slowly fade away only to come back worse then before.

She tried her best to look around but her vision had completely gone to the point that all she could see was an array of colours and blurred shapes. She assumed that she had somehow managed to make it into the medical bay of the Wunder. Akagi had said earlier that this was where they were heading towards.

It was during the journey that her vision had faded and her legs given out. From there she had been on autopilot, letting Akagi guide her. She was sure she had heard the sound of numerous doors opening. She had felt someone slowly guide her into a seated position and there were voices. Yet she couldn't make out anything.

The pain shot through her again, true to the pattern it was worse than before. She screamed out and felt someone place a hand on her shoulder. Rei was unable to scream out again, instead she rapidly waved her hand in front of her reaching for the person and shoving them out of the way. She had barely any time to think before the wave of nausea became too much and she threw up onto the floor in front of her.

She could feel the tears forming in her eyes as it all became too much for her. The pain in her head and now her stomach was eating away at her. She wished there was someone there with her to ease some of it. Rei let out a sob as she saw the shape move around her and gently push her onto her side. Rei offered no resistance, letting this hand guide her.

Shortly afterwards she felt a prickling sensation in her arm. She assumed it was a needle injecting her with something. She waited wishing that it would all just go away. Moments later the pain in her head slowly started to subside. It was still there but only as a dull ache and her vision returned. Her stomach still ached from being sick and so Rei opted to remain still. Lying on her side and crying, through her tears she could see Sakura Suzahara looking down at her.

"W-What is happenign to me?" Rei asked.

Sakura gave her a sympathetic shake of the head, "We don't know Rei. I've given you a serum that Akagi just delivered to me. She said she doesn't know if it would help but that I was to try it immediately. Do you feel any better?"

"I-It hurts... I feel... cold and... I want... I want Shinji..." Rei managed to stuttered out in between her sobbing.

Sakura nodded, "I understand. I'll clean up here and then go and bring him to you... is there anything else you need?"

Rei took a moment to think about it and considered asking for them to retrieve the teddy bear that Mari had given her. She decided against it, her brother being here is all she needed for now. Rei shook her head.

Sakura quickly set about cleaning up the mess Rei had made earlier before exiting the room to retrieve Shinji. Rei lay alone for a few moments and then with a trembling hand started to pull the sheets up around herself hoping to regain some warmth.

Whatever Akagi had developed in that time was working, the pain was mostly gone. She was now shivering from the cold feeling throughout her body.

"You can feel them can't you?"

Rei normally would have jumped in fright at the sudden sound of the voice in the room but she lacked the energy to do so. She blinked and sniffed as she weakly turned her head towards its source. Standing opposite her, barely a few metres away was the boy that she knew as Kaworu Nagisa.

"Y-You..." Rei started to speak but she trailed off too weak to even come up with anything to say. She let out a sob as more tears fell down her face onto the pillot. She tried to figure out just what it was she was seeing right now, whether she had fallen asleep.

Rei had seen Kaworu once before in those strange dreams of hers but she was certain that this was no such dream. Yet Kaworu Nagisa was dead and even if he was the same as Rei then it would make no sense for him to be here. This had to be some sort of hallucination, brought on by what was happening to her.

"Y-You are not real..." Rei finally said. Her voice cracking and betraying both her fear of the apparition and her belief that it wasn't real.

If Kaworu was hurt by her words than he gave no indication of it. Instead he slowly made his way towards her and gently grabbed her hand. Immediately she could feel warmth spread throughout her body. Kaworu simply looked down at her sympathetically.

"Y-You... what are you?" She asked.

"I am just like you Rei Ayanami. I am one born and bonded to this world yet I am not of this world." He stated.

"I do not understand." She muttered.

"You are in a great amount of pain Rei Ayanami, so do not try to understand."

"Okay." Rei nodded as Kaworu took his other hand and slowly started to run it across her forehead and through her soft blue hair. Rei enjoyed the sensations and her body finally stopped shivering as he continued the motion. She saw Kaworu gaze towards the door and then back down to her.

"He will be arriving soon, won't he?"

Rei gave a small nod, "You are referring to Shinji?"

"Yes." Kaworu smiled, "I can feel his presence in his place. I can see the glow of his heart as it begins to pulse with life once more. That is... that is what I wanted for him. Shinji needs to know the value of life, both of his and others. He needs to know the joy he can bring to others and that others can give to him. You... and the others, you must continue to help one another. You must develop your bonds of love and friendship."

Rei smiled, "We... We will try but why? Why are you so passionate about this?"

"Because soon you will all enter the place that I have shown you in your dreams. The tower that the Lilin of this ship seek and the place of our birth. You will need the support from your bonds to finally break this cycle." Kaworu gave another glance towards the door and his warm smile faded to a frown.

"I must go now Rei. Akagi... she had eased your pain and I wil do what I can. I look forward to seeing you all again."

Kaworu let go of her hand but the warmth from his touch remained within her body. She was about to open her mouth to speak but as she did the door opened and a panicked Shinji ran into the room accompanied by Sakura.

"Rei! Are you alright?"

Rei gave another glance to where Kaworu had been standing but as expected he was gone. She smiled weakly and nodded as Shinji's hand slipped into hers, "Yes... I am feeling better now. Thank you Shinji."

XXX

Unlike a few people she had known, Shinji included, Asuka didn't have a problem when it came to spiders. She didn't exactly like the creatures but she was certainly not afraid of them and had little problems with disposing of them.

As she watched it come into view even Asuka had to admit that she might have been afraid of this particular spider. It was a very strange looking beast, the body of which hung barely a couple of metres off of the ground. From what she could see the body was split up into two segments. A large rounded front segment and a smaller segment behind.

Around the entire body were a number of grotesque eyes, each of them stared out in various directions. They were each surrounded by a peculiar triangular marking and it It wasn't for the occasional blinking of the eyes Asuka would have sworn that they had been painted on.

Eight individual legs protruded upwards out of the body towering over the trees of the forests and matching the height of Evangelion Unit 02. The legs were blade like in their appearance and coloured a dull grey. They bent back downwards with the base of the feet becoming larger and wider towards the ground. Asuka couldn't help but shudder as she watched the Angel skitter across the horizon towards her.

 _'Shinji would not like this one... at all...'_ She thought to herself with a smile.

"So what do you think Four-Eyes?" Asuka asked.

Mari gave a shrug, "I'm thinking that we could probably do with a giant boot right around now. Pretty disgusting looking isn't it?"

Asuka gave a nod of agreement, "Nothing I can't handle. Anything from the Wunder? Still telling us to standby?"

"You got it Princess, orders for now are to standby and simply observe."

"Observe? What fo-"

Asuka didn't even get a chance to finish her question before she got her answer. There was a loud sound as a number of rockets passed by overhead. Each one zeroed in on the Angel. Asuka gave a sigh of annoyance and folded her arms as each rocket collided with the Angels A.T. Field and exploded with no effect.

"Well... that was a waste of time." She muttered.

"Barrage from the Neo-London air defences have had no effect on the Angel at all."

"Well of course they haven't! Since when did convention weapons ever have an effect on an Angel? That's what we're here for!"

"Hope is a powerful thing Princess! Maybe one day they expect one of these things to be super weak and succumb to their display of power."

"Oh yeah and maybe one day Shinjis dad will hug him and call him a good son! Get real Mari, It's just them trying to one up us! What is the Wunder saying now?"

Mari laughed to herself at the whole scene. Asuka was of course right, each and every time an Angel had appeared whichever backup force was around would attempt to wear it down using their weaponry only to come up short. It wasn't that they were quite as useless as Asuka made out, just that they always wanted to have the first attempt and try somehow to prove themselves better than the Eva's.

"We have been told to engage the target!"

Asuka took no time at all in moving Unit 02 forward and breaking into a light jog towards the waiting Angel. The mighty form of Evangelion Unit 02 made its way through the forest cutting through the trees and ripping the branches as if they were nothing.

Up ahead of them the Angel gave no indication at all of acknowledging their presence. It stayed its course moving forwards and if the barrage of rockets from Neo-London had bothered it then it also gave no indication of that either.

Asuka cared very little for what the Angels thought might be on the matter though and focused on extending her A.T. Field forward as she approached the monster. Unit 02s rifle was brought out and the distance was closed to within fifty metres of the Angel. She aimed and gently squeezed the trigger sending a hail of bullets towards the Angels body.

The Angel halted and turned to face the oncoming barrage. Much to both Mari and Asuka's surprise there was no A.T. Field deployed to halt the fire. Instead the monster brought its body upwards and released a spray of orange liquid forward. Each bullet was dissolved instantly upon contact with the liquid.

Asuka grinned, "Well well well... got a few tricks have we?"

Mari was smiling as well but watching her display carefully as data started to flow in, "Highly corrosive acid. Gonna have to be careful in close quarters Princess!"

"You think I don't already know that? What about the A.T. Field?"

"Nothing during that attack. Might not have considered it dangerous enough for it to deploy its field or maybe it just wanted to show off."

"An Angel with an ego eh? Well let's show it what we can do!"

Asuka started to move the Evangelion once again. She kept her distance from the creature and started to slowly circle it. The Angel now seemed entirely focused on the Evangelion, its large form turning effortlessly to match their position.

Without any warning the creature suddenly reared up and slammed its front two legs down into the ground. The rear segment of its body was brought upwards and Asuka watched and barely dodged out of the way of the thin white strand that had been sent hurtling towards Unit 02.

Unit 02 rolled to the side and Asuka gave a quick glance as the white webbing collided with a tree. The tree was uprooted with minimal effort and then pulled towards the Angel. It was promptly obliterated by another of the corrosive sprays from the creature.

Evangelion Unit 02 got back up onto its feet and Asuka had to force it to roll out of the way of another attempt at ensnaring her. She dodged another and another as the arachnid Angel was able to effortlessly turn its body to match their position.

Every now and then Asuka would have an opportunity to release more fire from the rifle and each time she could only watch in dismay as her bullets were disintegrated before their very eyes. Slowly both she and Mari were coming to the realization that much like the previous Angel this was going to be another exercise in frustration. Asuka was hoping that the next Angel would be the sort that she could just punch in the face.

Mari glanced at her display observing a few additional blips had entered the area, "Princess, picking up five TARKUS Units!"

"Wonderful." Asuka growled, her concentration on making sure Unit 02 wasn't ensnared, "Let them know about this bastards bag of tricks and tell them to keep their distance!"

"Will do! Mari cheerfully replied before starting to relay the message to the incoming support units. Asuka glanced up just in time to see each of the five TARKUS Units moving into position. They stopped and raised their repurposed hand bazookas. Each one took time to aim before firing simultaneously towards one of the legs of the arachnid.

Whether it was an inability to do so or the distraction being caused by Unit 02 the Angel offered no resistant in the form of its A.T. Field. Instead each of the five rockets found their mark on the highest point of the leg. The Angel let out a howl of pain as the limb was severed from its body, exploding into a pool of LCL.

Asuka took this as her moment and started to move in towards the side of the body. She fired another barrage of shots off from her rifle. She was getting low on ammunition but with any luck they would have just enough left to take the monster down. Each of her bullets found their target being absorbed into the body of the Angel.

Suddenly, the now seven legged, Angel let out bestial roar and reared itself up onto its back legs. It slammed itself down into the ground and sent out a thick strand of webbing towards the support Units. Asuka felt an immense feeling of pride as the Units effortlessly dodged out of the way.

"Aww they're good aren't they Princess?" Mari beamed from behind her.

Asuka nodded and shot Mari a quick grin of her own, "Well of course they are! What else do you expect when they've had me to teach them! Now let's finish this thing off!"

Asuka focused her attention on the body of the Angel again as overhead another barrage of rockets slammed into one of the remaining legs. Another howl of pain was released as this leg was severed and also reduced to LCL. Asuka and Mari kept moving forward dodging the webbing sent from the Angel as its own movements started to become more frantic. It slammed down again sending more webbing towards the support Units.

_'Getting closer… come on just need to...'_

Unit 02 was closing in now and Asuka was just able to dodge under one of its legs as it came crashing down into the ground. They now had unobstructed access to the body. Asuka raised her rifle, ready to fire what was left of her ammunition when without any warning the Angel fired several strands at once towards the TARKUS Units. Each one attempted to dodge out of the way with four out of the five being able to do so. The unlucky one however found itself ensnared by the monsters grasp and with barely any hesitation the Angel pulled it towards itself.

"Shit! Princess, it's got one of them!" Mari exclaimed.

"I can see that! Hold on Four-Eyes, it's going to get rough!" Asuka yelled back at her.

Asuka immediately withdrew the progressive knife belonging to Unit 02 from its holster and her Eva broke into a sprint. There was barely any distance to cover but knowing the fate that lay in store for the TARKUS Unit meant Asuka had to make sure she arrived in time. She knew what was going to happen if she didn't.

She let out a yell as Unit 02 was brought up into the air and the knife was plunged forward cutting through the webbing with no effort whatsoever. The freed TARKUS Unit was sent spiralling into the ground damaged and the pilot surely hurt but at least alive.

Unfortunately Asuka now realized the position they were in. She readied Unit 02 to move out of the way but did not have the time to do so. The Angel released its spray covering the back of Unit 02 in the corrosive liquid.

"AAAAAAARGH IT BURNS! SHIT! SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!" Asuka cried out in pain as she tried to expand her A.T. Field to deflect some of it. Behind her she could hear the screams from Mari as she suffered from the effects of the attack.

"Prin… Princess! It… finish it off… it… it burns!"

Asuka gritted her teeth as the feeling of the corrosive liquid eating away at the Evangelions Armour was mirrored perfectly onto her own. It created a sensation like there were thousands of angry insects nibbling away at her back and shoulders. She could feel tears stinging her eye as she gripped her controls tightly.

She took her hands and slammed them down onto her controls and tried her best to fight through the feeling. Through the blurred vision in her eyes she was able to see Mari behind her, doubled over in pain with her hands clutching at her shoulders.

"A-Asuka… it… it…" Mari started trying to speak before the pain overtook her.

"I know Mari… it…"

"It's never… nothing has felt like this…. What... What's happening?"

Asuka tried to shrug it off and ignore it. She faced forward again and with trembling hands gripped the controls once more. This had to end now before the two of them ended up passing out. The knife was gripped tightly in Unit 02s hand and she stumbled forward towards the body of the beast. She leapt up as more acidic spray was released.

Dodging this attack they were leapt up over the body of the Angel and Asuka aimed the knife under her. It sliced through the body of the Angel with minimal effort instantly turning the entire Angel into a lake of LCL.

Instantly she released the controls and allowed Unit 02 to collapse in a heap on the floor. She let out a soft whimper as the pain continued to eat away at the two of them.

"D-Did… I do it?" Asuka muttered.

Mari looked up at her display, "Y-Yeah… kill is confirmed… It hurts so much."

XXX

Shinji eyes opened slowly and he found himself in an empty bed. He rolled over and glanced at the small alarm clock which told him that it was just turned two in the morning. As he looked around the room he could see a small slither of light under the door. Quietly he climbed out of the bed and moved towards the door, sliding it open.

His heart fell when he saw her. She was stood gazing out of the window, he arms crossed with her hands grasping her shoulders. He could see the look of pain and anguish all over her face.

"A-Asuka…" He spoke softly and watched as she noticed his presence. She turned her head to look at him.

"S-Shinji? What are you doing up?"

Concerned about her he quickly moved forwards. As he approached he could definitely see that she was in pain. Shinji had heard about the fight with the Angel, he had asked her about it and all indication from Asuka had been that she was fine. He had noticed a few signs of uneasiness throughout the night, she had seemed reluctant to let him hold her and she seemed a bit more distant than she had been. Shinji had just attributed this to it being a long day for the two of them and her being tired.

"A-Asuka… are you alright?"

She had contemplated lying to him for a moment but she couldn't really do that now. It was pretty obvious that she wasn't.

"No I'm not alright!" She snapped before calming down, "It hurts Shinji… It hurts so goddamn much. You… You're the only one who can understand this aren't you?"

Shinji nodded in sympathy, "Yeah… The pain doesn't go away. The others when they used to ask me about piloting they could never understand that fear of getting in or hurt. They thought because of what the Eva was we didn't feel anything…"

"When you asked me earlier… I said I was fine and I lied Shinji. I'm sorry about lying but pride does that you know. I can't show my weakness because… I'm not supposed to be weak but this… I can't take it anymore. It's never felt like this before, I feel like my flesh is being eaten away."

Asuka continued, "Shinji… can you… I know it sounds stupid but can you look. Please just… tell me I'm fine."

Shinji walked across to her and stood behind her. In the dim light he gently lifted up her nightshirt to reveal her exposed back. He gave it a good look, examining it entirely before carefully lowing the shirt again.

"Your back is fine Asuka… do you need me to get Sakura or Ritsuko for you?"

She shook her head in reply, "No, you know how this goes. I just need to ride this out and it'll go away on its own. That's what happens to us isn't it? We get in the Eva and we fight. We come out and we still feel the aches and pains and just have to wait it out."

"Well yeah… but Asuka… you look like you're really struggling!"

Asuka glanced at him angrily, "I am struggling you idiot!"

She stopped and took a moment to calm herself down, "Sorry… it just hurts so fucking much and there is nothing I, you nor anyone can do about it. The Angel… it spat some sort of acid. It tore through boulders and trees like it was nothing. It was pulling one of those support Units towards itself and I stepped in to protect it. Ended up being sprayed by the acid…"

"A-Asuka…" Shinji moved to her side and grabbed her hand and softly stroked it. He made a motion to cuddle her but felt her hands on his chest. She shook her head again.

"No… Don't, I wish you could but it'll just hurt me more. There isn't anything you can do Shinji, I just have to wait."

She turned away once more and just stared out of the window. Shinji watched helplessly as she grimaced again and put her hand on her shoulder. After a few moments he spoke, "Fine… then we wait."

Shinji walked away from her towards the television and switched it on. He switched on the console underneath and grabbed two of the controllers. Asuka glanced at him and frowned, "Shinji, what are you doing? Go back to bed it's late!"

Shinji stood up defiantly holding out one of the controllers towards her, "No! I'm not leaving you Asuka! Not when you're in pain like this. If I'm not able to help you then the very least I can do is be with you until I'm able to hold you."

"And what if it takes all night?" She asked.

"Then it takes all night!"

"But you can't just…"

"ASUKA!" She stopped herself at the sound of his voice. Shinji hadn't shouted but the fact that he had raised his voice did surprise her. She looked into his eyes, they were fierce and determined yet shown the compassion and love he felt for her.

"I'm not leaving you on your own Asuka. You've helped me so much, more than I deserve so I owe you this much at the very least. I don't care how long it takes. If I have to sit with you all night or all week then I'll do it. I love you too much to just leave you alone at a time like this."

She almost wanted to cry from his declaration but stopped herself, instead she just laughed, "Idiot"

She walked over to the couch and grabbed the controller from his outstretched hand. A racing game was loaded up onto the machine as she tried to ignore the discomfort in her back and shoulders. The two of them sat down, her taking up a position on the edge of the couch. Him next to her but leaving back.

"Hey Shinji…" He looked at her as she leaned in and softly kissed him on the cheek, "I do appreciate this and… I love you too."


	12. Hope

All Fuyutsuki could do was shake his head in response to the new footage showing the immense arachnid Angel dissolving into a pool of LCL. He grimaced as he saw the prompt collapse of Evangelion Unit 02 afterwards and just sighed.

It was very hard for him to comprehend that humanity would now have to deal with additional Angels. On top of the world already being turned into what it currently was, all that he could see was more death and destruction in its future.

_'Katsuragi is searching for the Tower Of Babel, the place in which humanity will once again learn to understand one another. Ikari wants to take advantage of this and yet he does not tell me how he will do so.'_

Fuyutsuki cast a small thought for the director of NERV, such that it was. He hadn't seen Gendo Ikari in a few weeks, Gendo had been spending his time holed up in his office or from what Fuyutsuki understood taking trips to Terminal Dogma. It was a place that Fuyutsuki no longer dared to venture.

_'All I have of the outside world now are messages from our source within WILLE. I no longer know what I'm doing here anymore all I know is that a long time ago I chose the wrong path to be on and now it is far too late for that to be changed. All I can do now is put my faith in Ikari's son... I hope that by showing him those things when he was here and that by speaking to him he can find some hope and the will to end this madness... hope that his father lost many years ago.'_

Fuyutsuki sipped from his tea and closed down the video of the fight against the Angel. He now brought up another report and again started to shake his head as he read through it.

_'A medical report signed off by Akagi and that media, Sakura Suzahara. They're talking about Rei and something she experienced during the attack. Severe headaches and nausea when the Angel entered a particular range. It mentions that something similar happened when the previous one attacked... Dear God, is this your doing as well Ikari? Is Rei now to suffer for no good reason as well?'_

He shut the monitor off and went back to drinking his tea and gazing around his office. Fuyutsuki hoped that maybe today would be the one that this living nightmare that he inhabited finally ended. He had been hoping for that for over fourteen years.

XXX

A week had passed since the Angel attack and the crew of the AAA Wunder were now preparing to leave Neo-London towards their next destination. According to Asuka their destination was somewhere in the South of France about a day’s journey from Neo-London.

Shinji had still not told Asuka about the video tape that Pirani had shown him. He had not had much of an opportunity to tell her. So he had still been battling with his feelings about the footage. He wondered if maybe Misato had seen it by now. He had expected to be called to meet with her sometime over the week but that call had never come.

The past week had been a strange one. After the fight with the Angel it had taken long into the night for Asuka to start to feel better. She had eventually fallen asleep on the couch and he had spent most of the next day making sure she was alright and looking after her.

For the rest of the week their paths had diverged. Asuka had dedicated herself to spending time with the cadets and the TARKUS Units, putting them through training exercises in an attempt to improve their skills should another Angel attack. The fight against the arachnid like beast, nicknamed Matarael, had proven their use in combat as back up to Evangelion Unit 02 and Asuka and the others seemed keen to exploit that.

Shinji on the other hand had been given a task of his own. Asuka had managed to arrange it for him to help out in the Wunders kitchens. It had been a strange experience at first. Although he was only working there for a few hours every day it was hard to get used to being in a working environment. In addition to this he had to deal with the fact that the people there were older than him, at least physically and they all knew that he was Shinji Ikari.

Fortunately it did not seem like any of them were bothered by that fact. As long as he could cook well they seemed happy to have him on their team. Yet it was the people being served that Shinji noticed. He could feel their eyes on him when they retrieved their food. He knew they were looking him over, their gazes fixed on his the DSS Choker he wore around his neck.

Shinji buttoned up his shirt and stared at his reflection. His hand wandered up towards the choker, his fingers gripping at the sides of it and feeling the leather. He wanted to get rid of the damn thing. He wondered how much longer he and Rei would have to continue to wear them. Surely by now he must have proven himself trustworthy.

“You want it off don’t you?” Spoke a voice from the corner of the room. Shinji turned slightly to see Asuka stood in the doorway of their bedroom. She smiled and made her way over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

Shinji nodded in response, “Yeah… I know why it’s on me but I just wish I didn’t have to wear it anymore.”

She gave a small laugh, “You know it is kinda cute but I understand. Unfortunately I don’t think there is anything I can do about it yet.”

Shinji tried not to show his disappointment but he couldn’t help but lower his head, “Really?”

“Not yet. Orders from above even Katsuragi I believe, sorry Shinji.”

“It’s fine.” He sighed looking back up at himself and Asuka in the mirror. She was smiling, her eye also looking back at the two of them. He looked at the eyepatch and wondered if maybe he really had the right to complain about the choker considering her condition. She suddenly frowned when she realized what he was looking at.

“Don’t even say it.”

“S-Say what?” He replied defensively.

“You’re looking at my eyepatch and you’ve got that stupid dejected expression on your face. Stop it.”

“Sorry…”

“I know what you’re thinking Shinji and yes you do have the right to complain. It isn’t exactly fair you having to wear that thing around your neck, especially when you consider what it can do. It isn’t the same as my eye.”

Shinji nodded, “I know that…”

He leaned his head back allowing Asuka to lean in and softly kiss the exposed parts of his neck, playfully biting it at certain times. He laughed at the ticklish sensations as she squeezed him tighter. He decided that tonight he would finally tell her about what Pirani had shown him.

“So stop it, you go out there and… do your job and I’ll see you this evening. Oh and don’t worry about cooking anything tonight.” She grinned as he turned around to face her, “I’ve got a special treat prepared for you tonight.”

XXX

"The two of them are staying on board the ship? That is the decision that Katsuragi has come to?" Maya said with some disbelief in her voice. Ritsuko gave a small smile and walked over to her lover, stroking her hair.

"It's not just Katsuragi who has come to this decision. The WILLE council have also made this decision, the best and safest place to keep Shinji Ikari right now is on board this ship."

"And you agree with this?"

"Yes I agree."

Maya shook her head, “I don’t understand Ritsuko! You were the one who advised the collar for him, you were the one who was urged Katsuragi to use it when he escaped! You mean to tell me you’re fine with him being here now?”

Ritsuko nodded her head, “I know what I…”

“And the other one? She was with NERV and Gendo Ikari for years and all of a sudden we’re pretending that she is on our side and that it is safe to keep them both here?”

Ritsuko let out a sigh. The topic of Shinji Ikari and Rei Ayanami was always going to be a sensitive one when it came to Maya. Up until their return to the ship Ritsuko had avoided the subject as much as possible. She had been anticipating a moment such as this for a couple of weeks though. There was only so long she could put off the problem before it had to be tackled.

Ritsuko didn’t know where to start on tackling the problem though. There was a truth in Maya’s words that at first Ritsuko had been against the idea of Shinji Ikari being aboard the ship. There was also a truth in Maya’s words that Ritsuko had urged Misato to use the DSS Choker on Shinji when NERV came for him. It was a moment that Ritsuko regretted heavily and wished she could take back.

There was also the issue with Rei Ayanami. No one aboard the Wunder, not Maya, not Katsuragi nor any of the other old staff from NERV knew about her association with Rei Ayanami prior to the Near Third Impact. No one knew that Ritsuko had been in charge of Rei’s treatments and was one of the only people aside from Fuyutsuki and Gendo Ikari who knew Rei Ayanami’s true nature.

She had kept these facts secret and focused on the mission of eradicating NERV from the world. Like many she had assumed Rei Ayanami to be dead and the Ayanami series along with it.

Slowly she started to speak, “The truth is Maya… we might have been wrong about them…”

Maya looked for a moment like she was about to say something but she stood with her mouth open in surprise before closing it. After a few more moments she finally spoke, “Wrong? What the hell do you mean wrong?”

“About a lot of things. About what I urged Katsuragi to do the day NERV came for Shinji. About us putting that collar on him and Ayanami and about Shinji’s role in the Near Third Impact. There is a chance that we have been wrong all this time.” Ritsuko hoped that maybe this would placate Maya for now, unfortunately it didn’t.

Maya glared at her, “That’s rubbish! We all saw it… I saw the entire thing with my own two eyes Ritsuko! He started the Near-Third Impact. I saw everything and I heard everything. I heard what he said before he nearly destroyed us! Our homes went up in seconds… our familes lost all because of that brat! Now you’re telling me that we could have been wrong?”

Ritsuko nodded, “Yes. I don’t know the details, I’m not a part of the discussions but Katsuragi and…”

Maya let out a sarcastic laugh, “Oh Katsuragi! Of course it’s her! She’s been looking for any excuse to make sure her precious little Shinji is fine ever since he came back. Don’t think we haven’t all seen it. We see how she acts like she doesn’t care about him and is ignoring him but we know about what she is doing behind our backs.”

“It isn’t like that…”

“Don’t give me that! We know she is turning a blind eye to what he and Asuka get up to while on board the ship. Their unauthorised use of the simulators the other day? Giving them special privileges to go out into the city last week. Letting him help in the kitchens. It isn’t just those two either, we know all about the stunt Ayanami and Makinami pulled last week as well. No one else allowed off the ship but they find a way…”

Ritsuko was starting to wish that she was anywhere else but here right at this moment. Especially after hearing the last remark from Maya. Out of all the things listed that was the one thing that Katsuragi hadn’t have been responsible for. That was because of Ritsuko pulling some strings instead.

“I understand your anger Maya…”

“No you don’t Ritsuko! If you did then you’d be doing something to stop this from happening. The people on board this ship can only take so much, they’re beginning to feel like it was back at NERV. Certain people having free reign to do as they want whilst they’re the ones in danger, they’re scared and can only be pushed so far!”

“I’m aware of that but things are complicated. You have to trust me Maya, I would never ever let anything bad happen to you. If I knew there was even a small chance of you being hurt then I wouldn’t allow it to happen. I know how it seems but please… you have to trust me.”

Maya studied Ritsuko for a few moments and her frown deepened. She ultimately decided against saying anything to keep the argument going. She did, above anyone else, trust Ritsuko. When Maya had completely hit rock bottom after the Near-Third Impact it had been Ritsuko who had reached out to her and offered her help. In fact Ritsuko had always been there for her. First as a mentor and teacher, then as a friend and now as a lover.

“Fine…” Maya nodded, “I’ll trust you and I’ll do what I can to stem the fears of my team but… you have to understand… they’re scared and Shinji and Rei are the cause of that. If you or Katsuragi know anything at all people need to know. We can’t be kept in the dark.”

Ritsuko bowed her head, “I understand.”

Maya kneeled down and softly cupped Ritsukos face in her hands before leaning in to kiss her gently on the lips, “I love you Ritsuko, I’m sorry if I was a bit…”

Ritsuko waved the apology away, “Don’t worry about it, I understand. Things aren’t exactly normal right now. Dealing with unexpected Angels and those two. I will… try to explain what I can when I return tonight. I promise.”

XXX

Ritsuko picked up the syringe from her desk and checked the correct amount of liquid was within the small vessal. She turned in her seat to face Rei who was eying her curiously, "There is something bothering you Doctor Akagi."

"And what makes you say that Rei?" Ritsuko asked.

"I am unsure how to explain it. You seem to be frowning more than usual, it is similar to how Shinji is when something is bothering him."

Ritsuko chuckled, "Frowning more than usual, there are some aboard this ship who would argue that is my default expression."

Rei nodded, "To them yes, but this is different. You seem... sad."

Ritsuko gave Rei a small smile, "It seems the others are having a positive influence on you. You are beginning to be more perceptive of people, the old Rei Ayanami would not have recognized now pointed out such things."

Ritsuko gently took hold of Rei's arm and started to inject the needle into the upper area. Rei looked away from the needle and remained still as the liquid was injected into her. Ritsuko withdrew the needle and dabbed at the mark with a small piece of cotton wool as Rei bowed her head, "I am... sorry. I did not mean to cause you any offense."

"Don't be. I'm not offended. If anything from my perspective it shows that my treatments are working in taking you away from how you were at NERV. Even if what you said might cause me a bit of discomfort."

"I see, I am still sorry that I caused discomfort. Should I refrain from saying such things in the future."

"Perhaps, it depends on the person. Some people may not take too kindly to certain things being pointed out and others may want it to happen so that they can talk about it. It is up to you to make these judgements."

"I understand, I am still learning how to interact with others."

"In many ways we are all still learning Rei. Just because some of us have more experience than you doesn't mean they are experts at it either." Ritsuko paused for a moment as she disposed of the syringe, "In response to your query, there is something bothering me but I-"

Ritsuko was promptly cut off by a noise from near to her desk. It was a soft meow and almost immediately she felt a red glow descend upon her cheeks. The two of them looked towards the source of the sound and watched as a small white haired kitten with a black spot on its side emerged. Rei watched as the animal walked out and stretched itself before leaping up onto the bench that Rei was sat on. Rei and the animal looked at one another for a moment both seemingly wondering what to do. Finally it moved forward snuggling its head into Reis leg and curling itself up next to her.

 Ritsuko couldn't help but smile at the display, "It seems that he likes you Rei. I need to ask you a favour though, please don't tell anyone about him."

Rei nodded, "Is there a reason?"

"Well we aren't really supposed to keep pets on boatd the Wunder. We have aquariums on board but animals like cats and dogs are prohibited."

Rei looked down at the small kitten and cautiously took her hand and started to stroke along the sides of its face. She found the warmth of its fur quite comforting, the cat responded by rubbing its head against her and purring lightly, "I understand. I will not say anything."

"Thank you."

"When did you get him, he was not here the last time I was." Rei asked.

Ritsuko leaned back in her seat, "Same day that I caught you and Mari out on your little date actually. After me and Katsuragi had our meeting with WILLE in the morning I met with an old friend who runs a shelter for cats. She had just gotten this little guy and... well I know I shouldn't have done but I fell for him and had to take him in. His name is Spot in case you were wondering."

"Is this what has been bothering you?"

Ritsuko chuckled, "No it isn't. Unfortunately I had a small disagreement with Maya this morning before our appointment. That's what has been bothering me, she was a little bit upset about certain developments regarding the ship."

"I assume this is because of mine and Shinji's presence here. I understand that Maya dislikes us being here."

"It isn't quite like that..." Ritsuko let out a sigh as she saw Rei looked down somewhat dejectedly.

"It is understandable. To them we pose an unknown threat... I understand their fear."

"It would be hypocritical of me to say I do not, or at least have not shared in that fear. When your brother awakened and you came to retrieve him from the Wunder I requested that Misato use the collar." Ritsuko admitted to Rei. She watched Rei as she looked up immediately at Ritsuko, her red eyes piercing into her.

"It is not a moment I am proud of but in light of our conversation it is one I think you should be aware of. I feared what he was or could be and I acted without thinking. Thankfully Misato was not so cruel as I was."

Rei nodded, still not saying anything. She focused back down on the cat and watched as it purred and rested peacefully on her.

"I see. Can I ask... what changed that fear?"

Ritsuko nodded, "When you both returned with Shikinami. Despite what had just happened I was no longer able to see you as something to fear. You were both victims in this, especially you."

Rei processed this information, she felt some anger towards Ritsuko at her admittance of trying to coerce Misato into activating the collar and killing Shinji. Yet the more logical side of her mind could understand why it had happened. Rei had attacked them and was taking Shinji away from them. At the time they were still uncertain that it really was Shinji.

Rei would need time to think about this. She looked around the room and suddenly felt an urge to leave. To be on her own for a small amount of time and think over what had happened.

"Am I able to go now?" She asked.

Ritsuko nodded, "Yes. I will need to speak to you at a later point to discuss your treatments. I've had to alter a few things so let me know if you feel any side effects."

"I will, is this because of my reaction to the Angel?"

"It is, your body because of how it is composed seems to react violently to the presence of these new Angels. Either they are different to the ones we used to encounter or your current body is different. I think the alterations I've made to your medication should compensate for it but we won't know until there is another Angel attack."

"Thank you."

Rei turned to leave, as she did Ritsuko called out to her, "Rei... I don't expect your forgiveness for my actions but know this, I do want to help you in any way I can. Both yourself and Shinji."

XXX

Misato paused the video at the moment of the skewering and shook her head. She had watched the footage countless times since receiving it from Pirani each time she watched it she felt like a dagger was piercing its way through her heart. For fourteen years she had lived with the fact that not only had Shinji Ikari caused the Third Impact but it had been of her urging.

Over the course of those years she had been hopeful that he would return and that maybe a mistake had been made. That hope had eroded as time had gone on. She had resigned herself to the fact that he would never return and that he had caused the Third Impact. She had even grown comfortable in resenting him for causing it and abandoning the world as he had done. Until that day had come where he finally returned.

Only Misato couldn't bring herself to close the distance between them. The doubt and fear had taken over her completely. Shinji Ikari couldn't be anything to her anymore, all he was now was a symbol of the state the world was in. Shinji Ikari was a symbol of her past and her failure to protect this world. It was a past that she wanted to forget all about, to just leave behind and never have to face again.

She knew however that the day would eventually come where she would have to face that past and Shinji once again. Misato would not be able to put it off forever.

_'After we retrieve the item from Arles we will resolve this. It's time I faced this and him once again. This footage proves that we, that I, was wrong. I'm sorry that I stopped believing in you Shinji...'_

XXX

Shinji passed through the door into the medical bay, somewhat confused as to why Sakura had suddenly called for him to meet her there. He was not scheduled for any examinations as far as he was aware, nor had he undergone anything recently that he should be concerned with. At first he had panicked and worried that something might have happened to Asuka or Rei but Sakura's tone didn't seem to indicate anything of the sort.

As he entered the room he saw that she was stood near to one of the beds talking to a man seated there. Shinji couldn’t really see anything of the man from this angle, only his black hair and the more casual attire, "Sakura, you wanted to see me? Is there something wrong?"

Sakura looked up at Shinji and a wide grin appeared on her face, "Oh Shinji! Yeah sorry to call you on such short notice. Nothing is wrong but... well someone wanted to see you!"

"Huh?" Shinji looked as the man stood up and turned to face him. Shinji felt an overwhelming sense of familiarity as he looked the man up and down. He looked to be in his late twenties, was Asian and had a slight smile on his face. He was of an athletic build and his clothes also looked to be smeared in oil. Shinji looked blankly from this man to Sakura as he tried to figure out who this person was.

After a time the man folded his arms and shot Sakura a grin, "Ya see Sis, I told you that he could be pretty dense at times. I guess a lot has changed in fourteen years though..."

In that instant time seemed to stand still for Shinji. The way that the man had folded his arms, the tone of his voice and then he had caleld Sakura 'Sis'. Shinji knew immediately who the person was and in that moment a host of memories came flooding back to Shinji.

"T-Touji?" Shinji stuttered.

Shinji was stunned by the sudden appearance of his old friend. Sakura had informed Shinji not too long ago that Touji was alive and well as opposed to what he had been led to believe. She had also told him that Touji was working in Europe but Shinji had no idea that Touji was actually in Neo-London. Sakura at this point was beaming at the sight of this little reunion.

"T-Touji... y-you alive!" Shinji stammered out finally.

Touji let out a laugh, "Of course I'm alive! God ya don't see someone for fourteen years and they think you're dead."

Shinji could feel himself on the verge of bursting into tears of joy. He fought them back for the moment, if this was Asuka or Rei then he'd let it happen but he felt a bit of silly masculine pride preventing it from happening in front of Touji. He couldn't believe his eyes, his old friend was actually here, the other part of the group who, along with Kensuke, Asuka and Hikari had nicknamed the Three Stooges back in school.

Shinji finally shook his head and laughed, "N-No... It's just... Sakura said we were alive but when I..."

Touji nodded and cut Shinji off, "Don't worry about it. Sakura here told me everything Shinji. She told me all about your problems with NERV when they recovered you and how they made you think we were all dead. Tell ya what I'd like to meet the who said that! Give him a piece of my mind!"

Shinji laughed again, "M-My father... he made it look like that but... I think there is a long queue forming to get to him."

Sakura interjected, "Touji wanted to make sure he saw you before we left Neo-London. He would have been here sooner but... well something happened this week and... you should probably tell him!"

Touji smirked, "Oh yeah... nothing bad, don't worry. It's just well me and Hikari..."

Shinji stopped him, "Wait... You and Hikari? Oh Asuka mentioned something like that I think!"

Touji nodded, "Yeah... it happened not too long after you disappeared actually. I guess... what happened back then made us realize a few things. She liked me and I liked her but in those days we were too afraid to say or do anything about it. After the Third Impact well... we couldn't really be afraid anymore. I mean before that I was just the stupid jock and she was the perfect student."

"Well you are still a stupid jock so that hasn't changed!" Sakura interjected.

"Oh shut up!" Touji picked up a pillow from the bed and playfully hit Sakura with it, "You've been hanging around with Shikinami too much haven't you?"

Shinji laughed as Sakura grabbed the pillow from Touji and hit him back, "So what happened?"

"Well... after..." Touji lowered his eyes, "I mean... you don't mind talking about this?"

Shinji shook his head, "I don't... like hearing about it but I'm getting used to it. Can't really avoid it here."

"Yeah... I suppose, well after what happened me and Hikari got relocated to another school. We were the only two from Tokyo-3 to go there so we naturally ended up seeing more of one another and we were kinda seen as being outcasts in our new place."

Touji paused for a moment as his expression turned more serious, "News had just gotten out about the Impact and that an Eva pilot might have been the cause of it. There was a lot of confusion about it, there still is. At the school though people... started to say things. Me and Hikari... well we couldn't put up with it and we tried to put them right..."

"The two of them got suspended for fighting in their first week. "Sakura stated.

Touji smiled, "Yeah! Hikari was horrified, from honour student to suspended and me... well I've been in trouble but never that far. Thing is... I'm not proud of fighting but if I had to I'd do it again! Those people and the people that still say things now they don't know you like we did Shinji! They don't know the pain you went through and they didn't understand who you were. So we knew the truth and we tried to put them right!"

Shinji bowed his head, "T-Thanks and... I'm sorry you had to do that because of me."

"Haven't changed have ya? Nothing for you to be sorry for! Should be them apologizing! Anyway, that kinda brought us together. We ended up finishing school and from there we were set for life because our parents worked with NERV and moved on to WILLE. I was brought into an engineering job here and Hikari does a research job in the city."

"Touji this is taking too long! Get to the good part!" Sakura complained.

Shinji was about to protest wanting to hear and learn more. This was one of the first opportunities he had had to learn something positive about this world and its people. He kept quiet though and let Touji speak.

"Alright alright! So yeah... we got together and got married not long afterwards and we live together out there. We kinda... well I became a father this week."

Shinji's eyes widened and a smile came to his face immediately, "Y-You! That's amazing! Congratulations."

Touji grinned, "Yeah... it's been weird getting everything ready and just seeing him, I wish you could visit him Shinji. You'll have to make sure you do when you guys return!"

Shinji nodded, "Y-Yeah! We will!"

"Good, especially considering you're his godfather."

Touji chuckled as Shinji went from smiling to slowly realizing just what Touji had said to him. The smile slowly faded and turned into a horrified stare.

"Setting in then?"

"G-Godfather? M-Me... b-but I... Y-You... I c-couldn't... I couldn't! I don't know anything about babies or... well anything!"

"Relax Shinji! We're not asking you to take care of him... at least not yet anyway!" Touji grinned, "It was just... well it was something we agreed on when we found out we were having a child. We always said we wanted you to be the godfather and Asuka to be its godmother."

"When you found out?" Shinji looked back in confusion, "But I was still in Eva Unit 01, how could I have..."

Touji shrugged, "Done anything despite not being here? Guess we always knew you'd return someday Shinji. We never stopped believing that, no matter how much time passed we knew that you would come back eventually."

Shinji felt the tears sting the back of his eyes again, he blushed, "Thanks"

"Just promise me something Shinji."

Shinji looked up, "Y-Yeah?"

"That you, Asuka, Mari, Rei and even Sakura here will make sure that there is a future for our baby Shinji?"

Shinji couldn't help it, they had been threatening for some time and he had been fighting them but at those words the tears started to fall. His best friend had never stopped believing in him, even as so many had seemingly given up Hikari and Touji had always believed Shinji would return and wasn't to blame. They had even named him the godfather of their child and named the kid after him. Shinji nodded as he felt Touji embrace him.

"I... We will Touji."

XXX

Shinji looked up from the screen for a moment across at Asuka, her gaze on the game as her character picked up a mask and placed it on top of an enemies head before cleaving through the enemy with a blade.

“I… I saw Touji today, Sakura arranged it. She told me to come to the medical bay and he was there.”

Asuka paused the game and let out an exaggerated sigh, “Urgh, that idiot was on board messing up the ship. Better not have let him near my Unit 02.”

Shinji smiled, “He had some news…”

Asuka nodded, “Him and Hikari have had the baby then?”

Shinji looked back with surprise, “You knew?”

“Of course I knew you idiot! Hikari is my friend after all!”

“O-Oh yeah… Sorry I forgot, you two didn’t seem that close in school I guess…”

Asuka smiled back, “True, things change though. After they got relocated Mari and I had to spend a bit of time there. Hikari reached out to me, god knows I needed someone more stable than four-eyes. At times.”

“Mari does seem like a handful.” Shinji remarked.

Asuka nodded, “You have no idea. Blasting music in the Eva, always has far too much energy and constantly happy. She’s… a wonderful person really…”

Asuka shot Shinji a glare as she caught him smiling, “Don’t tell her I said that though. You understand?”

Shinji nodded, “I won’t!”

“Good! Anyway, Hikari was there to be a bit more sensible and grounded. We became friends and she of course ended up marrying that idiot. Can’t believe they finally had a child, I guess he told you about the godparents too.”

Shinji nodded again, “Yeah… I was a bit shocked. I mean I don’t know the first thing about anything like that and… are we supposed to buy it presents or look after it or something. He also said they named it Shinji too… he said they never stopped believing in me…”

Shinji trailed off as he felt the tears threatening again. Almost immediately Auska shuffled towards him putting an arm around him, “If it helps I don’t really know what to do either. I can pilot an Eva, kill an Angel and put a certain idiot in his place.”

She grinned, “Babies however I have no idea. Always creeped me out, being so small and fragile and just… needy… It’s gross.”

“You never wanted one yourself?” Shinji asked.

Asuka shrugged, “Never thought about it. I’m not really in the position to think about that sort of thing, you?”

Shinji gave a shrug of his own, “I… with the way my parents turned out I don’t think… I’d be too scared of being like my father I guess.”

Asuka playfully slapped him on the head, “Idiot, you’d be nothing like him. That said if those two can manage I’m sure we’d have no problems. Anyway moving on from this, did he say anything else?”

Shinji gave a nod, “Yeah, he told me Kensuke is in America. Never became a pilot, apparently after Third Impact all the drive he had to become a pilot left him. Apparently he ended up working in nature preserves.”

“Oh yeah, geek boy lost the bug for piloting big after that. Fell in love with animals instead and made it his job to try to protect them. Think he was inspired by that conservation place we all went to.”

“I’m glad… he always seemed… too eager. I don’t think he’d have really enjoyed it, thinking about it is one thing. Piloting is another…”

“True but we could honestly do with more Eva pilots if possible. I can handle things in Unit 02 sure enough but I’d be more comfortable if you were out there backing me up.”

Shinji looked down as Asuka resumed playing the game. He watched her mow her way through a few more enemies as she snuggled herself against this chest. He carefully ran his hands through her hair being careful to not disturb her whilst she played. He wondered if now would be a good time to tell her about the footage. As he was about to speak Asuka’s phone started to ring.

She stood up and grabbed it, “Hey Misato what’s up?”

Shinji watched as Asuka’s expression darkened, “Y-Yeah… I’ll… I’ll get her immediately…”

Shinji looked across shooting her a look of concern as he saw he hang the phone up. Her hands trembling as she did so.

“A-Asuka… is everything alright?”

Asuka shook her head, “Y-Yeah… well… no, not really. We need to get Mari… immediately and bring her here. Can you… make some tea or something?”

Shinji nodded, “What happened? Asuka, what did Misato say?”

Asuka looked Shinji directly in the eyes, “I… She said that we’re leaving immediately and I had to get Mari. She said that… Kaji is dead.”


	13. Private Investigations

**2011 – North East England**

"Mari Illustrious Makinami, born on 31st March 2001." Started the thick accented elderly woman, "Her mother was a scientist, worked for a place called Gehirn I think not sure what they did. No father, from what I understand he left them a long time ago but the mother and daughter were happy from what I understand."

She stopped for a moment before looking down, "It's always sad when a parent died but she died on Mari's Birthday in 2005, a freak accident at her lab. Was supposed to have been her last day as well."

Ryoji Kaji looked out of the window at the group of ten year old children playing out in the yard. It was a dismal day, grey clouds covered the sky and the forecast had been for rain. Yet this didn't seem to bother any of the children who were happily kicking a ball around the yard.

Mari was not hard to spot, she was the only girl out there and her brown pigtailed hair and red rimmed glasses certainly would have made her stand out regardless. She seemed to be playing out on the wings, picking up the ball when able to and easily running it past the others before crossing it in to one of the attackers to score. By all accounts she was very good.

Kaji turned again towards the woman just as she set down her cup of tea, "Mari has been here ever since."

"No other relatives? Has anyone been to visit her in all this time?" Kaji asked.

"No one, she was left with us one week after her mother's death. It was a man in a cheap suit and glasses that dropped her off. He told us the story that I just told you, only he was a bit more blunt about it. I can remember it all quite clearly, I always make a point to try and remember them when they're dropped off and when they leave here. It doesn't happen often through mind you."

"Would you mind telling me what happened please?" Kaji asked politely, this time sitting himself down in a comfortable leather chair opposite the woman.

"Well it was about ten o' clock at night when it happened. Pouring down with rain it was, one of the worst storms we've had. Flood warnings were put out and everything, anyway doorbell rang and there the two of them were. He was holding a large umbella, overcoat and I could see the suit he was wearing. Cold expression on his face, emotionless and neat facial hair I remember. His eyes were hidden behind the glasses he was wearing. I'll tell you something Mr. Kaji I didn't like him one little bit. Anyway he told me he was from a place called Gehirn, shown me identification and everything, well I had never heard of them before."

She paused to sip from her tea and then continued, "He asked us that we take in this little girl. I remember looking down at her and she was so different to what you see now. Blank expression, really tired and just... well her mother had just died so you can imagine. He explained to us what had happened and well... as stretched as we were at the time we couldn't exactly turn her down."

"I presume times were tough back then?"  Kaji interjected.

"Very, we had been around for a long time Mr Kaji and we took in and helped the kids as best we could. If we were unable to find them a new home then they were brought up here and we provided for them but we were having trouble."

"The Second Impact?"

She nodded, "You're an orphan yourself aren't you Mr Kaji? Forgive me for asking but I can just tell."

Kaji smiled, "Lost my parents during Second Impact, was just me and my little brother for a long time. Didn't quite have places like this to go to back in Japan. We eventually got picked up but we were seperated and... I've not seen him since."

"You poor thing. There are so many of them out there, even today we're bringing in more and it just isn't enough. I sometimes think that kindness is something that has been lost when it comes to the human race."

She stopped and smiled again, "Sorry, I'm rambling. Back to the story, the man... well he did say that we'd be compensated for our troubles. Everything checked out, money started coming in immediately from Gehirn but... I still didn't like him."

Kaji took a drink from his own cup and frowned, "This man... did he give a name at all?"

"Oh yes, Rokubungi I believe it was. Gendo Rokubungi."

XXX

**Present Day**

Mari’s hands were shaking as she stepped out of the building and into the cold night air. From behind her she could hear the chattering of those inside, there were a few raised voices, a couple of laughs and the sounds of music playing as people celebrated the life of Ryoji Kaji. Mari had no desire to be near any of them right now.

She felt sick as she realized that one of the closest people she had ever had to family since her mother died was now gone. Kaji had been like a big brother to her. He had taken her from that orphanage when she was ten, not that she minded being there but being with Kaji was something else. He had told her about her past and taken the time to prepare her for her future. He had given her a purpose in this world.

Kaji was someone just like her, an orphan searching for the truths in this world and maybe even getting a small measure of revenge. For him it was finding out the truth of what had caused the Second Impact and making sure they were dealt with. Mari had learned that the Second Impact had rendered Kaji an orphan and from that moment on it had been only he and his brother. That was until one fateful day when Kaji found himself surrounded by soldiers in an attempt to steal supplies from a local base.

In a moment of desperate fear he had given up the location of his friends, included amongst them was his brother. He had ran as fast as he could but returned to find them dead, butchered by those very same soldiers. It was as tragic a past as any of them had had.

Just like Mari, Kaji was someone who didn’t really fit in in one particular place but could somehow fit in everywhere. They were both people who would try to see the positive in a situation and use that to encourage and support others. Mari felt the tears start to run down her cheeks as she realized that she no longer had anyone to turn to when things got dark for her.

“I thought I’d find you out here.” Came the sound of Asuka’s voice from behind Mari.

Mari wiped away the tears using the back of her hand and smiled, “Well you know me Princess… can’t be seen looking unhappy. I mean it just wouldn’t be right would it?”

Asuka swiftly sidled up next to Mari and pulled her into a warm embrace. She slowly stroked Mari’s back as the girl cried softly into Asuka’s shoulder.

“Idiot, you don’t need to hide that from me.” Asuka smiled.

Mari flashed a smile back at Asuka and pushed her away playfully, “I’ll be alright eventually.”

She paused before giggling, “You know I always heard people talk about funerals back home, talking about how they went to one and it was a ‘lovely service’, always thought it sounded weird. Lovely isn’t really a word I’d use for a funeral but I can kinda see it now. Celebrating Kaji’s life and stuff… it was nice.”

“Kaji made an impact on people, he’ll be missed.”

Mari nodded in agreement, “Yeah… how are the others taking it?”

Asuka shrugged, “Shinji is holding up better than I expected but it’s hard to tell with him. Sometimes he’ll be an emotional mess and others he’ll hold it in. As for your girlfriend well she is… well its Rei. I’m not really sure she understands or can process this sort of thing.”

Mari frowned, “Poor girl… she probably won’t have a clue what to say or do. I did tell her she didn’t have to come but she insisted. She knew I was hurting, I think she could tell before I even admitted it to myself. Said she wanted to be here for me. Rei is perceptive, more so than I think any of us realize.”

“It’s weird to see how much she has grown. There is so much of the old Rei there but she is developing into her own person. She is showing emotion whilst the old Rei, well she had emotions but she didn’t know how to process them. Now she is learning and her insistence on being here is proof that she is understanding.”

“How about Misato, how is she doing?”

“She’s wearing her usual brave face just as we expected. Misato has to keep up the front of being the strong captain of the AAA Wunder for now. I can see that she wants to leave as soon as possible though. She keeps on looking at Shinji too, each time her expression changes and she looks… like she used to a long time ago. Back when she still had some hope left…”

“Those two still haven’t spoken then?” Mari asked.

“Hah, of course they haven’t! Shinji is still terrified of her and she is… being stubborn about the whole thing. Which is saying something when it’s coming from me.” Asuka joked.

Mari got a Cheshire cat like grin on her face, “Hey should we interfere maybe? Set something up and force them into meeting?”

Asuka shook her head, "Absolutely not! No the two of them need time I guess. He needs to get used to the idea of speaking to her and she needs to sort out whatever it is she needs to sort out. Maybe I’ll speak to her."

"Giving them time huh? You know it’s strange, I’d have thought she’d be straight back into how she used to be and you’d be the one that’d be tough to get to speak to him. Yet you fell head over heels for him almost immediately.” Mari teased.

Asuka raised an eyebrow at her friend, "Is this really the time and place?"

Mari nodded, "I need a reason to smile more than anything right now. If that means teasing you at risk of being hurt then so be it. I accept that."

Asuka punched Mari in the arm playfully, "Idiot, I'll allow a bit of teasing for now. Just expect the same when you and Rei start doing things."

"Who says we haven't already?" Mari stuck out her tongue.

Asuka looked up in shock, "You haven't?"

"No we haven't!” Mari admitted, “Still seems a bit early for the two of us. So far just a lot of cuddling and hand holding. Subject hasn’t even came up really, I would like to but how do you even prompt that sort of thing with someone like Rei?”

Asuka shrugged, “I dunno how about ‘Hey Rei, would you mind if I used my tongu-“

“Asuka!” Mari cut her off.

“What? I’m just saying maybe a direct approach is the best way!” Asuka laughed as she spoke.

“I don’t really… Just one thing at a time for Rei okay, I don’t want to overwhelm her or anything.”

“That’s quite a mature response for someone like you. Are you sure you’re feeling alright?”

"Must be the atmosphere in this place getting to me. One of my rare mature moments, it happens from time to time."

Mari glanced back down and sniffed before wiping away another tear. Her shoulders started to shake, "I'm sorry Asuka... I know... I know you don't like to see stuff like this."

"Idiot." Asuka stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Mari pulling her into another embrace. She stood letting the girl sob into her shoulder, "Take as long as you need Mari, I'm here for you."

_'Just as you were there for me...'_

XXX

**Outskirts of Tokyo-3 – 3 Years after Third Impact.**

“What in the name of hell is that thing?” Asuka exclaimed before turning around to face the others.

The thing that she was talking about was in fact a thirty foot blood-red cross shaped object protruding out of the ground. It was situated just past a row of damaged buildings on the outskirts of Tokyo-3. Around the base of the cross were a collection of red slimy tentacles that writhed and pulsated as they dug into the ground. Red shreds hung from the ends of the cross and around the base the ground had been turned a dark blood red, as if the influence of this object was spreading.

Ritsuko Akagi took a step forward and took the binoculars from Asuka and held them up to her eyes. She turned towards the object and even she found it hard to not shudder at the sight of it. A cross was supposed to be a symbol of hope, this looked very much the opposite. Around the main section of the cross she could see small gaps from which more red shreds hung, through these she was able to see the white capsule that was held within.

“It’s a living structure that has formed from the horror of the Third Impact. This isn’t the first one we have seen when we’ve scanned the area but it’s certainly the largest. If you look amidst the buildings you’ll see smaller ones.” Ritsuko tried to keep her voice calm and emotionless but was failing. She was scared, the three of them were. Returning to this place after so much time and seeing what had become of it. It was going to have an effect on the.

“Where did they come from? They can’t have just sprouted up!” Asuka asked, and a moment later she regretted the question.

Ritsuko did for a moment wonder just how much she should tell Asuka, she glanced at Misato for confirmation. Misato gave her a stern nod and Ritsuko began to explain, “When Third Impact happened… it affected things within the area. Most people were able to get away and be evacuated but others… their forms were… altered and in some cases they managed to find themselves mixed with the failed Evangelion prototypes. These failures litter the landscape and we think these forms are using those failures to feed off of.”

Asuka felt sick at the thought of it and looked out again over the landscape. All she could do was mutter two words, “How disgusting.”

"Indeed." Ritsuko agreed.

It was Misato’s turn to step forward and take a look through the binoculars now. She looked over the object, “This one is much bigger than the others that have been observed though. Why?”

“In all honesty we don’t know the exact reason. We have however came up with a theory, this one is bigger because it is feeding off of something more substantial, something that isn’t a failure.”

Misato’s eyes widened, “You don’t mean?”

Asuka felt herself stiffen when Misato asked her question. She knew exactly where she was leading yet it didn’t feel possible. That had vanished three years ago and left no traces. How could it possibly be here right now? Yet Ritsuko gave a nod and confirmed it.

“Yes. We believe it’s using Evangelion Unit 01. Examinations of it have revealed an Entry-Plug like object within its skin and we’re getting a code pattern that is consistent with that of Unit 01.

“Shinji…” Misato muttered. Asuka thought exactly the same thing but didn’t say it.

“So… there is a chance we can get him back then?” Misato questioned her.

Ritsuko nodded once again, “If we’re able to recover that Entry Plug and bring it back to our labs then yes. We might be able to.”

Asuka piped up immediately, “In which case I volunteer to go and recover it! It should be easy right? Unit 02 is far larger than that thing so it’ll be like disposing of weeds in a garden!”

Her words were full of a confidence she hadn’t felt in some time. Asuka knew that she would be more than up for this task. It had been a while since she had piloted Unit 02 but she was certain that she could do this, in fact she had to do this.

Misato frowned and seemed to think for a moment, she turned to Ritsuko, “The committee won’t be happy with the idea of us using an Evangelion will they? Do we need one?”

Ritsuko smiled, “As much as they won’t like it the fact is that we do need an Evangelion for this. Initial sweeps of the area by our drones revealed a powerful A.T. Field surrounding the area. As we all know the only thing that can counter an A.T. Field effectively is an Eva. Sure they could use an N2 mine but they’re not proven to be one hundred percent effective and they also risk damaging the Entry Plug.”

Asuka laughed confidently, “So it’s settled then! You send me in Unit 02, I neutralize the A.T. Field and I bring the idiot home! It has to be me really, Unit 08 is nowhere near ready to be deployed. Unit 02 is your only option.”

Misato glanced up at the entity once again and wondered if there was the possibility that it could be dangerous. As it was it appeared to be fairly static, the only movement being that from the writing tentacles that sunk into the ground and the red shreds that were handing from the ends and main column of it.

Misato knew that if there was the opportunity to get Shinji back then she would have to take it. Her main concern was who to select for it. Her heart was telling her to select Asuka, after all she had promised Asuka that as soon as they had the chance the mission would be given to her. Yet now that she was faced with the possibility her brain was telling her otherwise.

Asuka hadn't piloted an actual Evangelion since the Unit 03 incident. She had only recently started undergoing synchronization tests again and whilst her scores were already back up to the high standard they used to be, there had not been an opportunity to let her pilot the Unit itself.

Mari on the other hand had done training runs in Unit 02, she was more than capable of carrying out this mission. Mari had a high sync score and Mari would be the preferred choice of the committee.

Yet Misato had promised Asuka this opportunity. She couldn't break that promise, not now. Not when they finally had a chance to recover him. She glanced at Asuka who was gazing back at her. A frown on her face but her eyes pleading with Misato to let her do this.

After a time Misato turned towards Ritsuko, "Ritsuko... can you inform the committee of our plans to launch Evangelion Unit 02 and recover the Entry Plug. We will carry out the operation tomorrow morning."

"Who will the pilot be? They will want to know."

Misato glanced down at the ground, "Tell them that a decision has yet to be made on the pilot. I will inform them of my choice an hour from now."

"Very well. I will give you time to prepare your case, be prepared though, you know who their choice will be."

"I am aware of that, thank you."

Ritsuko turned and wandered back towards the small encampment. When she was out of view, Asuka finally let her head drop. She stood still as Misato wrapped her arms around her.

"Please Misato... I have to be the pilot. I have to be the one to get him back. You... You promised me."

"I know Asuka but... I don't know if we can. You haven't piloted since the Unit 03 incident and they..."

"I don't care!" Asuka pulled herself out of the hug, "My scores are better than Mari's and I'm the more experienced pilot! You know that! Mari knows that! Ritsuko knows it too! I'm the best pilot you have and if anything does happen then you want me in Unit 02! Besides which this is a close quarter’s operation and Mari is much more suited to range. She can always back me up in Unit 08, that isn't mobile right but capable?"

Misato nodded and smiled, "True, but..."

"Then it's decided! I'll pilot Unit 02 and get the idiot back! It'll be easy."

Misato didn't need to think about it any longer. In truth she had already made her decision before Asuka had asked but she needed to see this reaction from Asuka first. Asuka was confident and more than capable, this little display would be what she needed to convince the committee. As Misato looked Asuka up and down she caught sight of the confident pose and the gleam in the girls one visible eye. This was the Asuka Shikinami they needed for this.

"My decision has been made, I'll do what I can. Go and prepare yourself for tomorrow morning, Pilot Shikinami."

XXX

**Present Day**

Shinji fidgeted with his suit nervously as he looked out of the window towards the vast field. This environment was a contrast to the one he had gotten used to back in Neo-London. He had almost started to forget that most of the world has been reduced to this desolate, barren wasteland of varying shades of red after the lush greens and life seen in the areas surrounding Neo-London.

He turned back around and his eyes wandered around the room, taking in the number of people that had gathered to attend the funeral of Ryoji Kaji. It was a lighter atmosphere than he had been expecting. Although he had not attended a funeral before, or at least he was not able to remember attending one before he was expecting a somber atmosphere. One of little smiling and a large amount of sadness for the deceased. Instead he saw an amount of smiling faces, little, if any tears and guests smiling and making jokes with one another.

Every now and then Shinji would catch the eye of one of the other attendees. He’d have a quick moment where he think he’d see them look at him with a strange curiosity and he’d wonder if they knew who he was. In that moment he would wonder if maybe they’d walk up to him and confront him or say something to him.

Shinji had spent more time thinking about his role in the Third Impact and what that video tape had revealed. He had still not told Asuka about it yet, with the news about Kaji the opportunity had not come up again. It didn’t really seem appropriate to discuss his issues in such a situation but he made a note to eventually do it, maybe some time after this funeral.

As Shinji continued to pan the room he caught sight of Misato. She didn’t seem to notice him but Shinji immediately felt that sense of panic that always accompanied the sight of Misato. He had not had anything quite as bad as he had done upon the first instance of seeing her when he returned to the Wunder but little effects did happen. He felt his breath shortening and the sensation of the choker around his neck tightening.

_‘It’s not tightening… it’s just me thinking it is. It’s only Misato, think about what Asuka would say if she was here.’_

Shinji closed his eyes for a brief moment took a few deep breaths to calm himself. He imagined Asuka was there by his side, holding him as she would do when he had a nightmare or when she could see him struggling during the day. Slowly the sensation of the tightening went away.

He could focus again and looked at Misato. She hadn’t noticed that he was here. At least if she had done she made no indication of it. Shinji wondered if she had seen the tape yet of Third Impact. Maybe she, like him, was waiting for an opportunity to bring it up. That seemed to be the problem they had right now, wanting to communicate but not knowing how.

Shinji continued to look around until he felt a cold hand gently brush against his. He turned to see Rei was looking at him, a look of concern in her eyes.

“Are you feeling okay?” She asked.

Shinji nodded slowly, “I-I think so. Just a bit nervous because there are so many people here. I’m sure I’ll be alright though.”

“Do you need to step outside? I can accompany you?”

He shook his head, “No, thank you Rei. How about you, are you feeling alright?”

Rei gave a small nod before looking around the room herself, “I think so. I am… struggling with this situation though. I do not know how I should feel or act in this situation. I can feel the grief and sorrow of the others yet their faces do not reflect this. They seem happy. I am also concerned for Mari, I can feel the grief and sorrow from her yet she tells me she does not feel this and is fine. I am conflicted and I… what?”

Rei looked at Shinji in confusion as she saw him smiling at her, “Sorry it’s just… I’ve never heard you talk so much.”

“Is this wrong?”

“No not at all, it’s nice, you’ve changed a lot since we got back here.”

“I feel like I still have a long way to go. I would wish if anything to help Mari. I know she needs it but I do not know how and she does not let me know. I can feel her sorrow, I can see that even when she says she is fine and smiles it is not the same. She is hurt by this.”

Shinji tightened his hand around Rei’s for a moment to comfort her, “I… don’t really know what to do either. I think both Mari and Asuka are similar and try to hide if anything is wrong. They don’t want to be seen to be upset.”

“If it was Asuka, what would you do?”

Shinji shrugged, “I don’t really know. I think I’d just hold her more, Asuka seems to like that. You don’t have to say anything I don’t think.”

“I shall… try that then.”

“If Mari is like Asuka then she won’t talk about it until she is ready to but then… just listen I guess. I never really know what to say but listening helps.”

“I will also try that. Was Mari close to Kaji?”

“I think so, Asuka said they were at points but I didn’t know about it. Apparently after Mari’s mother died, Mari was put into an orphanage in England. Kaji was the one who took her out of it, he told her about the Eva’s, about NERV and about what happened to her mother. According to Asuka, Mari saw him as a big brother. They were really similar in a lot of ways... he was like family to her.”

“There is so much I don’t know.” Rei said sorrowfully after taking a time to think about what Shinji had said to her.

XXX

**2011 – North East England**

"Vanessa, would you please go and fetch Miss Makinami for us." The elderly woman asked of her assistant before turning back around to face Kaji.

"Of course."

"So, what is she like?" Kaji enquired.

"Mari? At first she was quiet and didn't say much but over the years she has grown to be quite the energetic and enthusiastic young child. She's always willing to give anything a try and can be incredibly tiring at times." The woman laughed, "She's got a heart of gold as well. If she sees any of the other kids hurt or upset she'll be the first one there to try to cheer them up and make them feel better. We've never had any problems with her. It will... well it'll be sad to see her go."

Kaji bowed his head and wondered for a moment if what he was doing was truly the right thing. The path he was going to put Mari on, it was dangerous and could cause her a lot of pain in the future. It seemed unfair to bring her out of this loving and supportive environment and into a world where she would be faced with unimaginable danger.

"It seems a shame to pull her away from this place given what you have told me. She has clearly had an impact on it, both staff and children. Unfortunately we-"

The woman cut him off, "I understand completely Mr. Kaji. You have to understand though that we have prepared for this day to come, whenever we take in a child we always assume it will be temporary, whether that is a few months or years. I would like to ask though, why the sudden interest from your organization, what was it called the..."

"IPEA" he answered, "It's a United Nations organization and was formed from a group that split off from Gehirn when that closed down. It is our belief that we can provide an environment for Mari to grow and put some of her talents to use. This can lead to an opportunity within the organization someday, she would be set for life as such."

"Gehirn?" The woman questioned, "Aren't those the people that her mother works for?"

"Indeed. You see part of the arrangement for the funding of your establishment and Mari was that we were also able to keep track of Mari's progress in school. We have of course noticed that she is a fantastic student."

"She is a genius Mr Kaji." The woman corrected him, "She is top of her class in everything at school and an absolute prodigy on the violin. I've never seen a girl like her in all my time doing this and we are so very proud of her. It seems that anything that girl throws herself into she comes out on top, even when she plays football with the boys she ends up being better than most."

"Exactly." Kaji smiled, "We believe that with our guidance and backing Mari has an incredibly bright future ahead of her and we can provide opportunities that she, no disrespect intended, would not have here."

Kaji had to stop himself from frowning as he heard himself speak those words. They weren't a lie but they were of course only part of the true story. He thought about what Mari would have to face with the IPEA but then he thought of the alternative.

_'Much better she be with us... than with Ikari and NERV.'_

If the woman did feel insulted by what Kaji had said than she shown no sign of it, "I understand completely but you have to promise me one thing."

“Of course.”

 

 

 

“Promise me that she will be safe and whatever she ends up doing is her choice. She is an exceptional student but that is because she chooses to be. At no point have we forced her to do anything. We have allowed her to explore those options from schooling to the violin and sports. Promise me that same thing and I will be more than happy to let her go.”

Kaji nodded, “I promise.”

Just as he made his promise the door opened and in stepped the woman from before and the ten year old Mari Makinami. The elderly woman turned towards Mari.

“Mari, this man here is Mr Ryoji Kaji. He has come from an organization called the IPEA and is here with an opportunity for you.”

“Okay, Hello Mr Ryoji Kaji!” She exclaimed enthusiastically.

Kaji chuckled, “Hello Mari. I saw you playing football, you’re very good. Do you want to play when you get older?”

Mari shrugged, “I just do it because I enjoy it. Life should be about doing things you enjoy right?”

Kaji nodded, “I suppose so.”

He turned to the two women, “Would you excuse us?”

“Of course.” The others got up and walked out of the room, “We’ll just be outside if you need us.”

Kaji waited for the two to close the door before reaching into a small satchel he had brought with him and pulled out a number of documents. Upon which was the logo of the IPEA, a wreath around the top half of a strange humanoid looking creature known as an Evangelion. Upon seeing it he noticed Mari’s expression change from a light smile to a frown.

“You’re here about my mother aren’t you?”

Kaji looked up immediately, “How did you know?”

Mari pointed at the logo, “That thing… on the day she vanished she shown me something that looked just like it and said… ‘One day you’ll pilot one’”

Kaji frowned, “Have you ever told anyone about this?”

Mari shook her head, “No! She said not to tell anyone! She said that I had to keep it secret until one day someone would come and find me and they’d tell me about it, are you that person?”

_‘When they said she was bright I had no idea. Guess that makes things a bit easier for me then.’_

Kaji nodded, “I am Mari, you’re the Fifth Child and that means you’re a very special person.”

XXX

**Present Day**

Ritsuko stopped at the door and took a quick look around to ensure there was no one else nearby. When she was confident no one could see her she slowly opened it and stepped inside. The room was dark, lit only by a small desk light. Any other potential source of light had been extinguished. On one side of the room was a window, the curtains drawn and next to it was a lone figure peering out through a small gap.

Ritsuko took a step forward and announced her presence, “I’m here, just as you asked.”

The figure turned their head and nodded slowly. Ritsuko looked Misato up and down and could see that even in this low light the captain did not look to be in good shape. She had clearly not been sleeping properly for the past week. She was starting to look more worn than ever, it reminded Ritsuko of the times just after Shinji went missing.

Ritsuko wondered if maybe she should speak to Sakura and get the young medic to have a word with Misato. Maybe prescribe her something to help her sleep. She decided against it for the moment. Misato would hate her for interfering in such a way.

Misato finally spoke, her words slow. The woman had been crying and from the sounds of her voice those same tears were threatening to fall again.

“Glad you could make it Rits. I know this isn’t really the time or place but… well we have a few things to discuss.”

Ritsuko folded her arms and sighed, “If this were the funeral of any other man then I would agree. Considering just who it was then I think talking business is appropriate.”

A hint of a smile flashed across Misato’s face, “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“So what is there to discuss?” Ritsuko began to ask, “Have they found anything regarding who did it?”

Misato shook her head, “Unfortunately not yet. Not like they can do much to investigate it out here as it is. By all accounts the killer was a complete professional, no traces left at the scene at all. All we know is that he was shot once in the chest, and died instantly.”

Ritsuko bowed her head, “I’m… so sorry Misato. I know… I know what Kaji meant to you.”

Ritsuko glanced up to see that Misato was not moving except for clenching her hand into a fist and unclenching it. It was a habit that Ritsuko had noticed Misato had developed not long after Shinji had disappeared. Ritsuko also know just what Misato’s reply was going to be.

“We weren’t like that anymore Rits, not in a long time. Kaji was… he was an asset and he was a friend but… I just wish…” Misato paused, her voice breaking as she spoke.

 _‘Misato you fool, we all knew just what Kaji was to you. We know how in love the two of you were and that he was one of your few sources of happiness left in this world. Don’t be like this, don’t close your heart to the truth.’_ Ritsuko thought to herself as she watched Misato suddenly straighten up and look around the room. When Misato spoke again her voice was clearer and commanding, she was trying to mask any emotions she was feeling.

“It doesn’t matter what I wish. Wishing for things doesn’t get you anyway, we have to take action. There is a reason I called you here. I don’t think the investigation here is going to turn out any suspects. Kaji was killed for something very specific, I think I know why. Take a look at this.”

Misato handed Ritsuko a small tablet computer and immediately she looked down at the screen. A video had been loaded onto it. She pressed play and started to watch it in mild confusion. She found herself staring at a scene she had not witnessed for a number of years start to play out. Her hands started to tremble as she witnessed Unit 01 during its fight against the tenth Angel.

In that instant every bad memory was brought back to her. She could see and hear everything playing out on the screen exactly as she remember it on that day. It all continued to unfold until the point that Shinji finally pushed Unit 01 too far, the halo appeared above its head and the chamber opened signifying the start of the Third Impact.

By this point Ritsuko’s hands were visibly shaking. She tried desperately to stem it but was unable to do so. She had only seen this footage once before. Afterwards she had made every attempt to never seen it again in her life. It was something she could never face.

Suddenly she let out a loud gasp as the scene passed the point of her memories. A large spear flew down out of the sky and impaled Unit 01, instantly sealing all the holes that had appeared in the sky. Above this she could see the large and imposing form of a strange yet familiar Evangelon descending.

“The Mark. 06…” she muttered.

Misato looked up immediately at the sound of Ritsuko’s utterance. Her eyes narrowed, “You knew of this Unit?”

Ritsuko gave a small nod, “As former head of Project E I… well I knew of it but I didn’t know any details about it. It was apparently being built at the NERV Seventh Branch. I saw a few concept shots but never thought anything else of it. Why would I? Another Evangelion being built wasn’t exactly news back then, NERV and the IPEA were neck and neck in Evangelion tech and a few other companies were trying to get in on it. I had no idea… that it had even been started let alone completed.”

“Well it seems that it had been completed and it… well you saw what happened when it appeared. Do you know who the pilot was to be for it?”

Ritsuko shook her head, “No I don’t. I imagine one had been selected but I never saw a personnel file. It would have been useless to us anyway, the Vatican Treaty saw to that.”

Ritsuko rewound the video and watched the ending again, “This it… impossible. Misato I don’t remember this happening. I remember looking up and seeing those holes open and I remember you saying how it was just like the Second Impact. After that I…”

“Woke up and everything had stopped? Shinji and Unit 01 had both vanished without a trace? No spears, no Mark. 06… no Gendo Ikari or Kozo Fuyutsuki.”

Ritsuko nodded blankly, “Yeah… I remember. I remember seeing the destruction that had been caused. The bodies of the unlucky ones that hadn’t gotten to a shelter or were caught up in the process somehow… I remember it all but I don’t remember this.”

Misato leaned herself against the wall and shook her head, “I’ve watched it a thousand times… I feel like...”

Misato trailed off to gather her thoughts, “I used to have this dream Ritsuko, long time ago that it was that moment. That we were watching Third Impact happen and then a miracle happened. The rift was sealed up, no one was hurt and Shinji was returned to us safe and sound. I didn’t think… until now that it could have been possible.”

“Misato we…”

“The world made a mistake Ritsuko! It didn’t happen like in my dream but something happened on that day and stopped Third Impact in its tracks. It took Shinji and Unit 01 away from us and then somehow resumed the process to make it look like it was Shinji’s fault! We all… I made a mistake! I blamed him for what happened to this world, I actually blamed him!”

Ritsuko stepped closer to Misato and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, “We all did Misato and you weren’t alone in that. You were one of the last to do so. You believed in him right up until the moment that the evidence said that we shouldn’t. Even then I don’t think you truly ever did, you can’t blame yourself for that.”

“Yes I can! I’ve been such a fool all this time! It was so easy to blame Shinji only so that I no longer had to blame myself! If I hadn’t have pushed him into piloting Unit 01 in the first place, if I hadn’t have told him to do things for himself! I was the one who failed Ritsuko!”

“Misato you couldn’t have known.”

“I couldn’t stand blaming myself for it any long and seeing as Shinji wasn’t there and was never going to come back it was easy. I could blame him for it and there would be no one to prove me otherwise.” Misato’s voice was getting more frantic as she spoke. Ritsuko could see the woman trembling as she continued to rant, her voice speeding up.

“Except Shinji did come back…” Ritsuko made another attempt to cut in.

“I know he did and… look at everything that has happened since. I can’t face him, I haven’t been able to do so since he came back. I’ve made him terrified of me and for what? Because I actually thought he did that, that he was capable of it! I can’t…”

“Misato!” Ritsuko suddenly grabbed hold of Misato’s shoulders and shook her in an attempt to get her to stop.

“I can’t face him Ritsuko! I know I have to but I just… I can’t. I can’t make things better for him. I can’t face him until I know how to do that.”

"Misato stop this! Shinji won't want you to make things better for him! He won't be expecting that he'll just be expecting... well he'll be expecting Misato Katsuragi."

"H-He... that Misato isn't here anymore."

Ritsuko shook her head, "No she isn't, that Misato never left. Even with all the changes in this world she is still there. It's the same Misato who made stupid gambles like sending three Eva's out to catch an Angel falling from orbit, the same Misato who ordered us to conduct a launch of the AAA Wunder whilst being attacked from all sides. It's the same Misato who refused to kill an innocent person despite knowing the danger it could bring. You're still that same person... you've changed, we all have but that is expected, that is what humans do."

Misato sniffed, "I just... I don't know what to do anymore. I feel like I'm two people. I'm the Misato that has a duty to WILLE, is trying to stop NERV and protect her crew but I'm also the one who wanted to be a mother to Shinji."

"You can be both, we'll figure this out. Now this footage... has Shinji seen it?"

"Pirani shown him it first, before she shown it to me." Misato admitted."

"So he clearly hasn't told anyone yet."

"What makes you say that?"

"Shikinami hasn't screamed the place down and threatened us all." Ritsuko smiled, "It gives us some time to work a few things out though. Is there any chance that this has been faked somehow?"

Misato feeling calmer now shook her head. It was at moments like this that she was thankful that she had chosen Ritsuko to be her second-in-command. Whilst there were many candidates out there with experience and perhaps more suited to such a role, Ritsuko had been Misato's friend for a long time. She was the one who had always been there for her and the one she could trust.

"If there was a chance I don't think Kaji would have sent it to us, nor do I think he would have been killed afterwards. No this is legitimate."

Ritsuko frowned, "His last transmission, proof that Shinji wasn't entirely to blame for Third Impact. Strange they they killed him after the transmission unless..."

"Kaji was potentially onto something else. We've suspected for a long time that NERV has someone working for them within WILLE, we think that maybe Kaji was about to discover who this person was along with sending this out."

"Do we have any idea who it might be?"

"The WILLE committee are remaining tight-lipped on that. They have criteria and people they suspect. They're looking for someone who would have worked at NERV before Third Impact occurred. They would have had access to things within the organization that many others didn't. Trusted by Ikari and Fuyutsuki."

Ritsuko bowed her head, "There are few people who fit those terms Misato..."

Misato nodded, "Yes, very few. Perhaps only one that can be thought of at this time."

Ritsuko looked up and fixed Misato with a stare, "Misato... I... I promise you..."

"Don't." Misato raised a hand, "I don't need your promises Ritsuko. I trust you completely and I've already told the committee as much. This is exactly what Ikari would want, he knows we have Evangelions, we have things turning in our favour so us suspecting one of our own... it's perfect for him."

Ritsuko gave a small smile, "Thank you."

Misato leaned back again and sighed, "Unfortunately they now need to rework their criteria. We then go from one or two suspects to hundreds. With Kaji's murder it confirms that there are at least two people working for NERV within WILLE ranks, wouldn't surprise me if Gendo had more."

Misato tried to think but everything was starting to become too much for her. She was unable to focus on one thing at a time. They stil had to obtain the artefact to aid them in their search for the tower. She had to arrange a meeting with Shinji. She still had the worry about Asuka in the back of her mind regarding the Angelic contamination. On top of this there was the death of her lover on top of it all.

Ritsuko sensing this tried to bring Misato back around, "Did he reveal how he obtained the footage, maybe there is a clue in that?"

Misato shrugged, "He... He didn't say, never told me or anyone how he obtained stuff like this. Always kept up the secret agent thing as best he could, thought he was invincible... Idiot."

With her utterance of the word idiot Misato finally broke down, she lurched forward into the waiting arms and sobbed into her should. All Ritsuko was able to do was stand there and softly console her best friend.

XXX

**Outskirts of Tokyo-3 – 3 Years after Third Impact.**

_‘Okay Asuka, let’s do this. All we need to do is move forward, cut down that big weed and then return to base. There’s nothing to it, just a direct run and collect mission. You’ve got this!’_

Asuka looked down to see her hands were trembling as she gripped the controls of her Evangelion. She hated that she was feeling this way before piloting. She knew it was only natural to be nervous but she hated every little bit of it. She wasn’t supposed to get nervous, she was the best of the best as far as pilots were concerned. Better than Shinji, Rei and even Mari. It didn’t matter that she hadn’t piloted in three years, she was still the best.

She thought back to all of her years of training. She had never been nervous before now, it just didn’t suit her. That was before Unit 03 had happened. She took a deep breath and eased back into her seat as a voice came over the speaker, “How does it feel Asuka?”

“Great!” Asuka lied, “No different to how it used to years ago. Let’s get started!”

LCL started to trickle into the plug and she gripped the controls a little bit tighter. She could feel the strange orange liquid start to pool at her feet and slowly rise until it covered her completely. She took a few slow and steady breaths and allowed herself to adjust to the sensations. LCL was nothing, she had been reacquainted with it via the sync tests. She ignored the thought in the back of her mind telling her that the LCL smelled different to what she remembered.

The plug jolted suddenly and she tried to suppress the feeling of panic that rushed through her as it was hoisted upward and then lowered into Unit 02.

“Is everything alright in there Asuka? We’re seeing a sudden spike in your heart rate.” Dr Akagi voice asked her over the speakers.

“Fine!” Asuka replied through gritted teeth, “Just getting excited for this, that’s all.”

Asuka wondered if Akagi and Misato knew that she was lying. Misato would know, Misato could figure things like that out. If Misato or Ritsuko did suspect that Asuka was lying they didn’t give any indication of it. The truth was that Asuka was terrified, as much as she hated to admit it she was genuinely scared right now. Scared that Unit 02 would reject her during the synchronization attempt and scared that she wouldn’t be able to pilot it. Scared that she would miss her opportunity to make good on her promise to get Shinji back. While it was true that her test results were back to a good standing that meant nothing if she couldn’t sync or pilot the main Unit itself.

There was one other thought lurking at the back of her mind. One planted there by the memory of the Unit 03 incident. She knew she had no reason to fear it but she couldn’t help but worry about something like that happening again. It had been three years but that memory was still fresh in her mind, being lowered into the Evangelion and moments later having her entire world fall away to find herself staring into a strange and disturbing abyss.

She feared that same thing would happen with Unit 02. That one moment she’d be looking at the safe cylindrical walls of the entry plug and then the world would fall away from her. All of her fears and nightmares would return to her and she’d be hurt once again.

Asuka opened her eyes slowly just in time to witness the rainbow flash of the entry plug and finally the revealing of the world which lay before her. This strange and alien world that had once been her home. Tokyo-3 had been transformed by the Third Impact and the years that followed. It was now a collection of ruined buildings, the bases of which had been turned am eerie blood red. Asuka couldn’t help but feel that the place they once called home now resembled hell itself.

There were many parts of this hellscape that just didn’t make sense anymore. She could see the red cross that was her target off in the distance. It seemed to have grown since yesterday, dotted around it were numerous other crosses that had also increased in size since yesterday.

Towards the centre of the ruins was the site of the former NERV headquarters. It’s familiar pyramid structure had been replaced by a cylindrical column with a large inverted pyramid balanced on top of it.

_‘Just… what the hell did Third Impact do to this place? This… is hell itself.’_

“Asuka we’ve brought Unit 02 online, you’re currently sitting at thirty percent. You’re above the line for activation.”

Asuka couldn’t help but be a little bit disappointed at that news. Her scores in the tests had been much higher. She knew she shouldn’t have expected similar results inside Unit 02 itself, she probably had a way to go until that would be the same but she was expecting a bit higher.

“Well you know, I haven’t been in this damn thing for such a long time. It’s over activation though so does it matter?”

“It doesn’t matter at all Asuka!” Misato quickly replied in an effort to reassure Asuka, “Remember this is a simple operation. You will approach the target zone marked on your map, neutralize the A.T. Field that is there and then move in to bring the entry plug back. We aren’t anticipating any problems but we have deployed Mari in Unit 08 to track and provide support to you.”

Asuka nodded in understanding, “Understood. You got that up there Four-Eyes? Better be good with that rifle, don’t want you to hit me with it!”

“Got it loud and clear Princess!” Replied an overly enthusiastic Mari.

“Okay Asuka, you are clear to go. Let’s just focus on basic movement in the Eva for now, it hasn’t been activated in a while so let’s just see if it can still walk.”

Asuka didn’t reply as she started to focus on moving Unit 02 forward. It was strange at first, like riding a bike after years of not having done so. She tried to remember how she used to do it. Tried to relax and put herself inside the body of the Evangelion. She began to concentrate on capturing that feeling and focusing on lifting the foot of Unit 02. Moments later it slowly began to rise and she moved it forward a few metres. She slowly raised the other food and brought it ahead. She kept up this process until she had completed a good few steps.

“Congratulations Asuka! You’ve got it moving, and your sync ratio has increased by a couple of points!” Misato congratulated her over the speaker.

Asuka breathed a sigh of relief and allowed herself to smile at the news, “Hah that was easy. So what’s next?”

Misato replied immediately, "Start making your way towards the perimieter marked on your HUD. Once there spread your A.T. Field."

"Got it, this is going to be easy."

Asuka turned Unit 02 around to face the giant cross. She glanced down from the ledge that their little camp was positioned on top of and calmly counted to three. On reaching three she jumped downwards. The ground heaved and shook all around her as her Evangelion landed. She brought it up right and started to move forward.

 _'So far so good.'_ She thought to herself as she started to close the distance and approach the marked perimeter. As she gazed at the object she could see that her mind hadn't been playing tricks on her earlier, it did seem to be much larger than before.

"Hey guys, has that thing grown?" She asked.

"Correct, it is at least twenty five percent larger than yesterday. We are also seeing a size increase on the surrounding objects as well. Be careful Asuka." Ritsuko warned her, a hint of fear in her usually calm voice.

_'Even Ritsuko seems to be nervous.'_

Asuka progressed forward her gaze fixed firmly on the cross. Her nerves were starting to subside and were being replaced by something else, excitement at the thought that she might finally see him again. She had planned out a moment like this in her head so many times. The eventual rescue of Shinji Ikari.

She had mapped out how it would go, how she would get him back and wait for him to recover. She would watch over him and when he had recovered she would yell at him for being such an idiot and vanishing like that. She'd yell at him for leaving her and everyone else. She'd then wrap her arms around him and hold him.

_'No... I need to suppress these thoughts. We haven't got him yet.'_

She started to enter the outskirts of what was Tokyo-3. Around her were a smattering of differently sized buildings. As she walked amongst the maze of houses, office blocks and other various buildings she found herself gazing through the cracks of the buildings. She could see things, even after all this time, left as they were all that time ago. Nature, or at least the effects of Third Impact, were claiming the environment but she could see traces of the humanity that had been left behind.

In one building she could see a dining area, the plates set out as if a family were getting ready to eat there before they had to evacuate. Peering inside an office block revealed overturned chairs with jackets thrown on the ground, mugs teetering on the edges of desks and mice and keyboards hanging from the desks.

Thankfully her thoughts were broken by Ritsuko's sudden interruption, "You should be approaching the perimeter now Asuka. Expand your own A.T. Field and prepare to neutralize the one that's there."

"Got it, expanding field now."

Asuka concentrated and expanded her A.T. Field. True to Ritsuko's word she soon came up against the opposing field surrounding the cross. There was a soft octagonal ripple as Unit 02 softly collided with the field.

Asuka now brought back Unit 02s arm and curled the right hand into a fist. With as much force as she could muster she drove it forward. There was a like glass smashing heard as the fist collided with the field. Asuka pulled back again and attempted to punch through the stubborn field. The sound erupted once more but this time she thought she could hear something else, a faint rumbling from underneath her.

Asuka ignored the sound and drove forward a third time. This time she finally broke through the field. She watched as the octagonal light produced by the A.T. Field rippled revealing an entire dome around the cross before finally shattering. As soon as it did Unit 02 stumbled forward as the rumbling from before started to grow more intense.

"Asuka what's happening out there? We're picking up movement heading your way?" Misato yelled over the speaker.

Asuka shook her head and scanned the horizon, "I don't know! I can't see anything, I'm just going to move forward."

Without any hesitation Asuka started moving forward towards her target. As she walked she struggled to keep Unit 02 upright as the earth began to shake more violently. She hopped across a fallen powerline but as soon as she landed a vast number of long silver blade-like ribbons shot out from the ground surrounding her and blocking any further progress.

One of them suddenly focused on her and shot forward. She swiftly dodged out of its way only to find herself put directly into the path of another. Her balance already off due to the shaking ground, she managed to stumble out of the way but not before the blade cut through the arm of Unit 02. Asuka screamed out in pain as the sensation of the cut was transferred from the Evangelion to her.

Misato yelled out trying to calm her, "Asuka, remember that isn't really your arm! It's just the synchronization, you've still got this!"

"I KNOW THAT!" Asuka yelled back, "It still fucking hurts though!"

She gripped the controls again and was just in time to dodge out of the way of another attack by these strange tendrils that had sprouted up. Asuka withdrew Unit 02s progressive knife from its sheath and just as one of the tendrils was passing her by she backed out of the way and brought the knife down slicing the thing in half.

She watched as the fallen portion dropped the ground where it squirmed for a few moments before finally dying. As it died two more sprouted up directly in front of her, she hacked away at both of them not giving them a chance to do anything and started to move forward. Asuka leapt up into the air as another one swiped at the feet of Unit 02. As she landed she brought the Evangelion into a roll ducking under another that was swiping at her.

Coming out of the roll Unit 02 stumbled back to its feet and Asuka jerked the Unit to the left just in time to dodge one that was sprouting out of the ground.

 _'Where the hell are these things coming from?'_ She angrily thought to herself as she hacked away at another attacking tendril.

Asuka ran forward and hopped over two more before leaping up on top of one of the still standing office blocks. From this new vantage point she could see the path towards her target. Hundreds of these things had now sprouted up and were blocking her path. They swayed back and forth as they surrounded her destination, protecting it from her.

As Asuka was about to start moving again she watched in horror as three of the tendrils suddenly rose up to match the height of her Eva. She blinked once and started to try to move out of the way. Realizing that she had no chance of dodging all three of them she shut her eye once more and waited for the pain to reach her.

No pain came, instead the sound of three shots being fired in quick succession was hear. She opened her eye just in time to witness the third of her attackers being torn into by one of the bullets. Asuka allowed herself to turn around to see the distant form of Evangelion Unit 08 perched on top of the ledge she had previously came down from.

"You're late Four-Eyes." Asuka grinned, silently thanking Mari for her quick intervention and sharp shooting skills.

"Better late than never Princess, now go and rescue the puppy! I've got you covered."

Asuka nodded and faced her destination once more. Mari continued to fire shots forward, each one hitting their targets with stunning accuracy. Asuka watched as slowly but sure a path was opened up in front of her. Asuka readied herself to jump down from the building Unit 02 was on top of and dash forward.

_'Hold on Shinji... I'm coming for you!'_

XXX

**Present Day**

Mari finally pulled away from Asuka and gave the girl something of an embarrassed smile as she wiped her eyes on her sleeve and readjusted her glasses. She giggled as she looked at the damp patch that had now formed on Asuka’s white shirt.

“Sorry Princess, I seem to have ruined your shirt.”

Asuka glanced at the wet patch on her shirt from where Mari’s tears had soaked into the material and gave a groan before laughing herself, “Urgh, I’d have expected this sort of thing from Shinji but from you Four-Eyes? I’m disappointed. What next? Rei going to hug me?”

Mari sniffed and laughed, “I’m sure that time will come. She’ll want to thank you for helping her.”

“I hope now, it’s bad enough having two over-emotional idiots to put up with in you and Shinji. Don’t want to add another to the mix, I prefer Rei as she is.”]

“You don’t mean that.”

Asuka shook her head, “No… I don’t mean that. Rei suffered because of Shinji’s father and I’m glad she is finding her way here. Just… don’t tell her I told you that. I’ve got an image and pride to maintain.”

“Got it, I’ll be careful to not let her know all about your softer side.”

“Good.”

Mari placed her hands on the railing and looked out across the wasteland. It was a sight she had gotten used to seeing over all these years, she felt that it was somewhat beautiful in its own unique way.

“Hey Asuka…”

“Yup.”

“Have you ever… well… did you ever tell Shinji about us?”

“Not properly, he knows we had something once but not much more than that.”

“Really? When did you tell him?”

“Oh it was before we…” Asuka froze as she saw Mari raise a curious eyebrow and start to smirk.

“Oh I see… it was when you both-“

“Enough! Yes it was, and not I wasn’t thinking of you and it was just to reassure him that I had done something and that I knew what I was doing. No more.”

“Did he say anything?”

“That idiot say anything to that?” Asuka laughed, “I think I overloaded his brain. No, I’ll tell him the full story properly some time. Just… doesn’t really come up in conversation you know.”

“I guess not. Speaking of Shinji, look…” Mari nodded towards the entrance of the building just in time to see Shinji and Rei emerging. Shinji caught sight of the two girls and both he and Rei made their way over to them. Rei stood silent for a moment her gaze shifting from Mari towards the wet stain on Asuka’s shoulder. Once she had made the connection she immediately pulled Mari into a warm yet strangely robotic hug.

“Are you okay Mari?”

Ignoring the snigger from Asuka in the background Mari nodded and returned the hug, “Doing fine Rei, thank you. We were just talking. How are you two doing?”

Rei gave Shinji a quick look before smiling, “We are okay. We were talking about things as well. I was concerned about you and had questions to ask Shinji. We were not aware of your connection with Ryoji Kaji either.”

Mari broke the embrace and gave a knowing look towards Asuka before shrugging, “Well you know me, I don’t really like talking about myself. Tell you what, I’ll give you the full story later on blue. We should probably head back inside now though, staring to get a bit chilly out here.”

Before Rei had an opportunity to respond Mari had already grabbed her arm and was pulling her back inside the building. As she did Shinji turned to see Asuka watching the two of them with a smile on her face. He moved next to her and wrapped an arm around her.

“How are you feeling Asuka?” He asked.

Asuka shrugged, “I’m alright I suppose. I didn’t know Kaji too well if I’m being honest. Spent a bit of time with him before I transferred over but was never close. Guess I’m concerned about Mari but… well she has Wondergirl with her. She’ll be alright.”

“I didn’t know how close Mari and Kaji were either until you told me. Come to think about it I spent time with him when we were in Tokyo-3 but I never knew much about him. I liked him though, he was always nice to be although a little bit weird.”

Asuka laughed, “Yeah… same for me. Mari though… they were like family. Not through blood but they had a bond. I just… hope she’ll be alright.”

“You really care about her don’t you?”

Asuka put her hands on her hips and frowned, “Of course I care you idiot. Fourteen years with her as my only real company… it means something and Mari was… she was there for me during some tough moments.”

XXX

**WILLE Temporary Base – 3 Years after Third Impact.**

Asuka slowly staggered back into the locker room, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and could see how pale she had become. Her entire body was trembling as she tried to forget about the horror that she had just witnessed.

She had been so certain when she had pulled the entry plug from that cross that he was going to be inside. She had prepared her speech to him and everything. She had been so confident that as she carried it back with her that he was waiting in there. She had even thought for a moment that she could sense his presence within.

It made no sense whatsoever, that thing was Evangelion Unit 01s entry plug. All of the markings and labels were on it. Yet when they opened it what was inside was not what should have been in and entry plug and the thing that had emerged was certainly not Shinji Ikari.

_‘That thing was… it was a monster. A nightmare that had somehow been brought to life. It was… a failure… I… I failed again.’_

Asuka felt her stomach turn as she made it to the centre of the room. She finally took the opportunity to look up and across from her was the grinning face of Mari Makinami. The grin instantly faded once Mari had caught sight of Asuka’s expression. Within a heartbeat Mari was on her feet and in front of Asuka.

“Asuka it… what happened?” Mari asked quietly, her own voice trembling under the weight of the question. Her own stomach turned dreading the answer.

Asuka looked her dead in the eye and was unsure of what exactly to say. She didn’t know how to explain what she had just witness or even if she did. She feared that if she opened her mouth she’d vomit. She had nearly done so in the room when that thing had emerged from the entry plug.

She shuddered as she recalled watching the rounded mass that had taken root inside of the plug. Its entire body had pulsed with a steady rhythm almost as if it were breathing. From the main bulk of the creature protruded slimy black tentacles that seemed to keep it gripped tightly onto entry plug walls.

It was the eyes that had frightened Asuka the most though. She didn’t know if she would ever be able to get the image of them all suddenly appearing on the body of the monster and opening simultaneously and focusing their gaze directly on her. It was moments after that the entire thing had stopped pulsing and dissolved before their very eyes.

Asuka tried opening her mouth to speak but could not get any words out. Instead all she could manage was a short gasp and a weak whimper. She threw herself forward into Mari’s waiting arms and buried her face into the brunettes shoulder.

“It… It wasn’t him… It wasn’t him… I wasn’t… We… We failed…” Asuka spoke through her loud sobs as Mari’s arms wrapped themselves tightly around her. She held Asuka close and gently rubbed her back in an effort to soothe Asuka.

“It’s alright Asuka… it’s alright. I’m… I’m here for you. For as long as you need.”


	14. Carpet Crawl

Asuka looked upwards towards the screen and studied the form of the bizarre tripod figure that was was being displayed upon it. The being definitely resembled the Seventh Angel just as she had been told a while ago but she could spot a few major differences between the Seventh Angel that she remembered fighting and this thing in front of her.

The first major difference of course was the addition of the third leg to this new creature. This addition seemed to replace the lower section and core that had been the original Angel’s weak-point.

Secondly the area upon which the legs attached to the main body, if such a thing could be called a body, had more bulk to it. Whilst the original Angel could have been mistaken as being fragile due to its original appearance this new creature looked a lot sturdier.

There was also an increased amount of bulk up along the neck of the creature as well. Protruding out of the neck was the same long thin spike as seen on the Seventh Angel and the exact same mask like face the Angel had. This was also accompanied by the thin red spike which had given the Angel an almost ‘clock-like’ appearance.

Mari was of course stood next to Asuka and was also studying the image of this strange looking walking machine. As always she wore a confident grin.

“Well Princess, this certainly isn’t the Angel that you once knew…”

“We actually don’t believe this thing to be an Angel at all.” Interjected Ritsuko, “Out drones have performed significant reconnaissance in the area since the discovery. All data transmitted back to us indicate that whilst there are some similarities this is not an Angel.”

“So what exactly is it? Nemesis Series again?” Asuka asked, intrigued by what she was seeing.

Ritsuko gave a non-committal shrug, “It’s definitely a possibility. We have encountered what we call the Nemesis Series a number of times over the last few years and we have observed them to take on a variety of forms. Whilst the Nemesis Series have properties associated with the Angels they are not Angels therefore it is possible that this particular type is based on the image of the Seventh Angel.”

Asuka stopped to recall her fight against the Seventh Angel. Despite being such a long time ago she had not had the opportunity to ever forget that encounter. She would not have forgotten any of her fights against the Angels as it was but that encounter was always a favourite for the simulation exercises.

The Seventh had attacked from the sea and as was often the case quickly made its way through the attacking forces of the UN. Asuka had deployed from above the target and fought it whilst free-falling. One of the key defences that the Angel had was its ability to break itself apart to avoid oncoming fire.

Aside from this one little trick Asuka recalled it as being fairly unremarkable. She had defeated it within a matter of minutes and it was considered one of the weakest of the Angels. This was why it tended to be popular for the simulator. Cadets would compete to beat the top score, which had of course been set by Asuka.

Asuka threw her hands up, “So the thing picked an Angel to model itself off of. Shouldn’t be too difficult if that Angel was anything to go by. What’s the catch here?”

Ritsuko tapped a button on her point and the image of the tripod machine was soon replaced by another one. This immediate shown Asuka what the catch was. Instead of one of those figures she could now see a vast number of them.

“Ah.” Asuka stated flatly.

“Ditto.” Said Mari.

Ritsuko tapped the button again and a new image was displayed, this time it was a map showing the area that the creatures were in. In the centre was a large blue circle, dotted around it were a vast number of red circles. Asuka and Mari didn’t even attempt to count them. Ritsuko pointed at the blue circle in the centre and started to speak.

“That is our target. We believe that the artefact we need is within it.”

Mari raised a hand, “Care to fill us in on what this artefact is?”

“Put simply we’re unsure as to what it is exactly. We hope that whatever it is will help us to decipher the maps we obtained for the Tower.”

“Hope? So you’re not certain about this?” Asuka asked dryly.

“Admittedly it is something of a gamble, I dread to think what the MAGI would say if they were still in use regarding our odds of success but Captain Katsuragi is very confident that this will provide us with what we need. When you consider our source of information I would agree with her optimistic outlook on this mission.”

“Kaji…” Mari muttered just loud enough for Asuka to take notice. It had been a few days since the funeral and Mari did seem at times like she was back to her old self. Asuka did however know Mari better than that. She knew that Mari would want to appear as if she was fine to everyone else, to make it so that no one else was worried about her. Mari always saw it as her job to make sure others were happy.

Mari however didn’t see it as her job to make sure that she was happy herself. She would shut away her own feelings and put on a brave face. It had only been by chance that Asuka had discovered the truth. One time after a particularly stressful mission Mari had shut herself away in her room for a number of days. It hadn’t been until Asuka had broken through the door and found Mari curled up in the corner that she had realized just what Mari had been putting herself through. From that moment Asuka had vowed to be there for Mari just as Mari had been there for her.

Asuka moved closer to Mari and put out her hand to gently stroke Mari’s fingertips. She saw Mari smile in response to the comforting gesture.

Quickly wanting to move the subject on for the benefit of Mari, Asuka gave a shrug, "Well it isn't like we haven't done stupider things in the past. It's hardly catching an Angel out of the sky again. So how many of those things are there?"

Ritsuko let out a sigh, "At last count more than fifty."

"FIFTY?" Asuka exclaimed loudly, "That's... ludricrous! Okay I take back what I said, this could be one of the stupidest things we've ever done!"

Ritsuko smirked, "If you're not happy with it we could always have Makinami control Unit 02 for the operation?"

"I said that it was stupid, not that I wouldn't do it!" Asuka bit back, "One against fifty though, it's going to be a challenge."

"At least fifty." Ritsuko corrected her, "That is what we counted before our drone was knocked offline. We do estimate there to be more."

"Okay so one against more than fifty. I know I'm good..." Asuka boasted, "But even I know that those aren't exactly great odds."

"We're aware, that is why you won't be alone in this. We'll also be deploying five TARKUS Units are different points along the perimeter. Based on the data collected from the last two Angel's and previous encounters with the Nemesis Series we have been able to outfit the Units with a standard A.T. Field neutralizer."

Asuka nodded, "Better than nothing, what else do you have?"

"Air support from the AAA Wunder and we have outfitted Unit 02 with new defensive measures. Mari, I will have Maya walk you through these new systems as soon as possible. We want you to be familiar with them by tomorrow morning."

"Ooh lucky me! I get some new toys to play with!" Mari grinned whilst happily bouncing from one foot to the other.

Ritsuko continued explaining the plan for tomorrow, "Tomorrow morning we will begin the operation with an aerial bombardment of the area from the AAA Wunder."

As she spoke five transparent green circles appeared at different points on the map, "These strikes will occur at these locations. It is our hope that this will scatter some of the machines and create a few gaps. Once that is complete we will deploy the TARKUS Units close to the points of impact, their instructions are to target any lone Units and hopefully start to thin the numbers."

"Okay so combining the strength of the TARKUS Units with the aerial bombardment that should take out a few before we even get there right?" Asuka asked.

“Exactly, if all goes to plan it should create a suitable distraction so we can deploy Unit 02. Your aim will be to run directly to the structure and bring it back to us.”

Mari raised a hand, “I have a quick question. Unit 02 will be bringing the artefact back, isn’t it a bit… big for something like that? Just how big is this artefact?”

Ritsuko smirked, “Well whilst we would normally send people into the structure to recover it we don’t have that luxury this time. That is why Unit 02s job will be to bring back the entire structure.”

Mari grinned, “Oooh so we are literally going to be robbing the tomb! I like it! Suppose I should go and get ready then. I’ll don my finest brown leather jacket and cowboy hat!”

As Mari left she turned to Asuka, “Oh and Princess, I suggest you brush up on your boulder avoidance technique for this one!”

XXX

Shinji glanced out of the window of his and Asuka’s quarters at the vast red wasteland before them. It was a stark contrast to the lush greenery that he had grown accustomed to over the last couple of weeks in and around Neo-London. There was once a time not so long ago that he would have looked at this land and felt a tremendous sense of guilt. That guilt was still somewhat there within him but the weight on his shoulders had been lightened by the tape of that day.

He still had a vast number of questions relating to that. What role did he play in the day? Who stopped the process and how did it resume? Why did Unit 01 vanish in the way that it had and why was he trapped within for so many years?

He really should have spoken to Asuka about it but for numerous reasons he had not been able to do so. He was going to do it before they left Neo-London but then the awful news about Kaji’s death had come through so he had held off doing so.

_‘I’ll do it tonight… give Asuka some good news before she goes on her mission. I have to do it, I can’t hold it off any longer.’_

In the distance he could see a number of large hulking shadows moving slowly and wondered just what they were. He knew that their arrival in this place was the precursor to some large scale operation. Earlier in the morning Asuka and Mari had been called away to a briefing held by Dr Akagi. Asuka had not yet returned from that and Shinji had been told to remain in the quarters for the duration. Whatever was happening was serious.

Shinji sighed and turned around to see Rei sat in a seat her eyes focused on him. She had her head tilted slightly and looked somewhat nervous herself.

“You are nervous?” She finally asked.

Shinji nodded, “Yeah, of course I am. Whatever is happening feels bigger than any of the operations we went on against the Angels. Asuka and Mari have been gone for hours and… I can see those things out there. I just wish I knew what was happening.”

“I understand, I am nervous too. I am worried that Mari or Asuka will get hurt. Yet… I have faith in the two of them and the work of Katsuragi and Akagi. I am confident that our fears will be unfounded.”

Shinji felt himself smile at her reassuring words, “Yeah, you’re right. I wish we could be out there with them to help. After seeing Asuka hurt after the last Angel, I… I don’t want her to get hurt like that again.”

Shinji let out a small laugh, “It’s weird, I thought when I didn’t have to pilot anymore I’d be happy about it but I always thought that when I didn’t have to pilot the Eva anymore then no one would.”

“You still hate the idea of getting inside the Eva?” Rei questioned him.

“I only ever got hurt when I was inside Eva, we all got hurt so I never truly wanted to do it but I did because I guess… well at first I just wanted some sort of connection with my father I suppose. Now I want to pilot so that I can help Asuka and Mari and protect the people here.”

“I understand, I feel the same. At first Eva was my connection to your father and the man who created me. It was all I had.”

“But you didn’t like it?”

Rei stopped to think about it for a moment. She cast her mind back to those times in Tokyo-3 and could not say for certain whether or not she did enjoy it. Of course her senses being dulled at the time by order of Commander Ikari would have aided in her being unable to make that distinction.

“I neither liked nor disliked it, it was a part of who and what I was. I had nothing else to define me at the time. Yet now I have friends and someone who I love to define me. It is no longer my only bond and a part of my life yet I wish for it to be a part of my life so that I can protect my friends.”

XXX

Asuka watched carefully as the last of the five pilots finished their fight against the simulated Seventh Angel. She was stood with her arms folded on a catwalk above the simulator pods. She said nothing as the pilot emerged from their pod and was surrounded by and congratulated by their fellow pilots.

The pilots had a good sense of team spirit and unity, it was certainly unlike the way she, Shinji and Rei were during the fight against the Angels. Of course these pilots were a lot older and better trained than they were at the time. They had all been brought up together, taken oaths together and trained together. Asuka, Shinji and Rei were brought up in isolation, away from one another and all piloted for different and most likely selfish reasons. Asuka knew that in some ways she still did pilot for a selfish reason, so that people would recognize how good she was and to prove that she existed.

As she watch the pilots congratulate one another she observed one of them turn around and spot her above them. The pilot gave the others a quick nudge and pointed, soon they were all waving at Asuka with smiles on their faces. Asuka simply gave them a nod in response and called back.

“Good work pilots, I look forward to working with you all tomorrow.”

Despite the smiles on their faces and their reactions to her Asuka could sense the tension in the air and in fact wherever she went on the Wunder today. The exact details of the operation had been kept to essential personnel only for the time being but it was no secret that something big was about to go down. Many already suspected that WILLE had planned their first proper offensive operation against the enemy.

It had created an atmosphere of nervousness and excitement amongst the crew. Nervousness because they did not know what to expect and excitement because this was the first time they wouldn’t be reacting to a sudden encounter. They were actually going to take the fight to whatever was out there.

It was certainly different to how it had been once over with the Angel attacks. Back then an Angel would show up and start its attack and any plan to defeat it had to be made on the spot with whatever limited time and resources NERV had available. After the Angels came the Nemesis Series. They were much the same as the Angels with their ability to show up at inopportune moments and require a quick plan to defeat them.

Most recently it had been NERV itself attacking the Wunder just after it had recovered Shinji for the first time. Asuka had to admit it felt good to finally be attacking first.

There were a few notable exceptions to their history though. The operations to rescue Shinji had been planned out in advance but they had gone into those completely blind with no idea of what to expect. There had been no hint of an enemy before those operations and the sudden emergence of the Nemesis series during the first one had required them to improvise.

As much as she hated to think of those attempts she knew that they would help her for this. They reminded her that no matter how much she or Misato planned there was always going to be an unknown element to these operations and she should be ready for anything. Whilst it seemed simple on the surface there was always the chance something could go from.

She decided now would be a good time to leave the hanger and return to the quarters. She had seen what she had wanted to and was confident that the teams backing her up would do well. As she turned to leave she found herself face to face with Maya. Maya was staring at her with her arms folded. Remembering their last encounter Asuka gave a nod of acknowledgement before attempting to move past her. Maya however moved quickly to block Asuka’s path.

“Shikinami…” Maya paused for a moment seemingly collecting her thoughts, “I wanted to wish you luck for tomorrow’s mission. I hope my pilots serve you well.”

Asuka smirked, “I’m sure they will.”

Asuka started walking again but only got a few metres before Maya had called out again, “Oh and… how is Shinji doing?”

Asuka stopped and turned around slowly to stare at Maya. There didn’t seem to be any hints of malice or sarcasm in her voice. Asuka raised a curious eyebrow, “He is fine. Not that it’s anyone’s business.”

Maya simply nodded, “Good. Tell him my people enjoy his cooking.”

XXX

Misato's gaze was fixed onto the large map before her. On it was the expected layout of the area they were to be attacking tomorrow. Red markers indicated the enemies they were going to come up again, a large amount for only six participants. In the centre was a replica of the cross shaped structure that was to be recovered.

"The preparations for tomorrow are complete then?" She finally asked, satisfied that everything looked correct.

Ritsuko gave a nod, "Yes. Maya has informed me that she has selected the five pilots that will participate in the operation and has had their TARKUS Units prepared. They have been through the simulator battle with the Seventh Angel and are managing to destroy it with ease."

"Good, Asuka and Mari?"

"I've informed them of the operation and the stages, they seem happy with it. Unit 02 has been upgraded and prepared for deployment. I've given Mari a run through of the new systems she'll be making use of."

"And us?"

"Wunder is prepped and will also be ready to go on time. In addition the map you just saw reflected the status of the area as of an hour ago."

"Good." Misato sighed and took a seat behind her desk. Ritsuko in turn sat herself down in her usual position off to the side of Misato.

Misato was nervous, she hadn't felt nerves like this since the first time they had tried to recover Shinji. It was similar to the feeling she used to get when they fought the Angels in Tokyo-3. She wished that she had some way to suppress these feelings but there was nothing she could do.

If they pulled this off then they were finally going to be one step ahead of NERV. If they failed then it risked dooming them all. Everything she had at her disposal was being put into this one operation. They risked losing Unit 02, the newly developed TARKUS Units and even the Wunder itself. They had to succeed.

Yet it wasn't for those reasons that Misato felt the nerves. It was something much closer to home. The knowledge that when this was over she was finally going to have to do something she had not expected to in a long time. It was after that first attempt to rescue Shinji that she had started to close herself off from her attachment to him.

She tried to focus on something else, "Can we really pull this off Rits?"

Ritsuko looked up and smiled softly, "Been a long time since I've heard you call me that. More of the old Katsuragi coming through?"

Misato fidgeted awkwardly with something on her desk, "Maybe a little, I've even been craving alcohol recently. I haven't touched the stuff in years and recently that's all I've been wanting."

Ritsuko nodded, "It hasn't been easy for you, for any of us over the recent weeks. We recovered Shinji unexpectedly and narrowly avoided the end of the world again. On top of that we've faced more tragic events the now this. Under normal circumstances I'd recommend taking a break but..."

"That isn't really possible for someone like me... I knew what I was getting into when I took on this role. Recently though... it's all changed and... I don’t know if I can really do it any longer. I feel like everything I keep on saying I'm doing this for WILLE and for the crew but... in truth I don't think I am. I'm lying to myself and the crew, I'm doing this all for myself. So I don't have to feel bad about what happened to Shinji and so I can get revenge on NERV for what they did to this world and now... so that I can get revent on whoever did that to Kaji."

Ritsuko gave her a comforting smile, "If you weren't leading us then who else would it be?"

Misato shrugged, "I don't know! You? You're more capable than I am, you're rational and calm and able to think things through. You don't rely on gut instinct and luck to get us through a situation."

"And it is for those reasons why I wouldn't be fit to lead this crew. I can analyze a situation and recommend courses of action but even I know I can be a cold person when it comes down to it. If it was my decision I wouldn't have hesitated like you did on executing Shinji when NERV rescued him. Yet I know now that it was the wrong decision."

Misato looked across in shock at Ritsuko, "You're not that cold Ritsuko! I know you'd do the right thing."

"Maybe I would but I could never take that risk. Misato regardless of what you think about yourself right now you are the best person to lead us. You've already gotten us this far, we can do this."

Misato smiled weakly, "I will... do what I can Rits."

"And your crew will do the same. As to your question as to whether or not we can pull this off. I am confident that the MAGI would likely give us little to no chance of doing this. Which based on our track record so far means we have a good chance to doing this."

The two of them laughed at the joke before Misato turned more serious again, "What about NERV? They'll be watching won't they?"

"It's impossible to say. They will be aware that we're seeking the location of the tower and they will likely be aware of our interest in this artefact. I believe they'll be watching us closely."

"Do you think there is a chance they'll try anything?"

"Last we know they had no Eva's to call their own and we have the only pilot they had left. Yet... even in what appears to be a weakened state I think we should be careful. We know Ikari has an influence of certain people and we are no closer to learning who those people may be."

"Kaji knew... that has to be why he was killed. He must have found out who it was before he sent across the footage of Third Impact."

"Speaking of that footage, have you given anymore thought on what to do regarding Shinji's situation?"

Misato gave a nod, "I... have thought about it. Pirani still wants it to be kept secret for the moment so no big public announcements."

"Is that what you would have done?"

She shrugged, "I don't know, maybe I would have done. Maybe throw a big parade with banners and balloons and make it worldwide apologize to Shinji day. He'd probably hate to have that kind of fuss made over him though."

"What about closer to home, you are planning on talking to him?"

"Yes, when this operation is complete tomorrow I'll go and speak to him. I'll explain everything and apologize to him and maybe... maybe he'll forgive me."

XXX

Mari stared out of the window and looked across the vast landscape enjoying the strange, yet to her somewhat beautiful view. There were many who would consider her odd for enjoying such a view yet Mari had always been able to find beauty in the strangest things. To her she liked the various shades of red that now coloured the landscape.

There was something to be admired in the way that Third Impact had changed and reshaped the Earth into the mostly red planet that it was now. It was fun to see nature adapt to these new circumstances and also how these little anomalies and impossibilities had now sprung up. Tokyo-3 in particular had been quite marvelous for her to view with a variety of physics defying structures to see. The uniquely shaped pillars, the impossibly balanced structures and of course that huge rapidly spinning moon.

Mari wasn’t too bothered that others weren’t able to see the beauty in such things, she was pretty content in the fact that others saw her as being quite odd. That had been her life up until this point, always considered a little bit strange and unusual. Even amongst the Eva pilots she was seen as odd, she was the only one who genuinely liked the smell of LCL even going so far as to admit it was one of her favourite smells.

Kaji had always told her to embrace that which others called weird. That those parts of her were what made her unique and it was nothing to hide nor be ashamed of. Now of course Kaji was gone. She hadn’t cried about it since the day of the funeral but quiet moments such as this when she did think of him brought her to that point again.

Mari didn’t want to cry about it again, especially not in front of Rei. Instead she smiled sadly to herself as she caught a glimpse of her own reflection in the window.

_‘I’m not any different to the others at the end of the day am I? As much as I might appear to be I’m just as fucked up as they are. I’ve got a messed up past and can’t even process my feelings correctly. I’m no different to Asuka, Shinji or even Rei. We all deal with this stuff in our own silly way and can’t even be honest with each other. Even when I know I should, even when I know I should be throwing myself at Rei and crying on her shoulder I can’t. I just look at how happy she is and I can’t ruin that, I have to be happy whilst she is happy.’_

She turned away from the window to see what Rei was doing. Mari nearly giggled at the sight of Rei deep in concentration as she was focused on a game. Mari looked on as Rei guided a female character through a series of ancient ruins. Throughout these ruins were a series of traps which Rei was able to navigate the character through with no issues.

Mari sat herself down next to Rei and continued to watch until Rei finally reached the end of the level. After this Rei set down the controller and turned to look in Mari’s eyes. There was an amount of concern on the blue haired girls face, it was subtle but certainly more noticeable than it might have been when Rei had first arrived.

“Are you nervous about tomorrow?” Rei asked.

Mari smiled back at the girl and let out a small laugh, “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t just a little bit nervous Blue. Sort of makes sense to be a little bit nervous before any mission. I mean I am about to pilot a 60ft death robot into the unknown. Did you ever get nervous before piloting?”

“I… do not believe I did.” Rei started to speak, “I did not… have the same grasp on my feelings that I do now. When I was a pilot I would question why Shinji was frightened or nervous when I felt there was no reason to be.”

“Was there a reason for that?”

“I had placed my faith in the Eva and the work of Commander Ikari, I also… knew the truth of my existence as well. I knew that I was replaceable.”

“Oh…” Mari glanced downwards awkwardly, “Are you… nervous about the idea now?”

Rei nodded, “I am no longer an Evangelion pilot but I am nervous for a number of reasons. I am worried that harm might come to you during the mission tomorrow. I do not wish to see you hurt in anyway, after the last Angel you fought it would… upset me if you were hurt. It would be my desire to replace you tomorrow if I was able to.”

“I imagine Shinji probably feels the same way about Asuka too. Truth be told I’d be a lot more comfortable if you and Shinji were out there alongside us. I think many others would be happier to see some extra Eva’s taking part in the operation too.”

“I do not think others would find comfort in the idea of me and Shinji piloting, I sense many still distrust us.”

“True but despite their feelings about you and your brother they all know how good you are as pilots and I reckon it’d definitely give them some comfort. I can’t imagine you’d need much persuasion either, even Shinji…”

Rei nodded again, “Yes… Shinji said that although he dislikes piloting he would rather be doing that than doing nothing at all. Especially to help Asuka.”

Mari laughed, “Ah the puppy really has it bad for her doesn’t he? Would jump in at any point to help her. How about you, would you jump in to save us poor damsels in distress?”

Rei took absolutely no time at all to think about it, a smile instantly formed on her lips as she nodded enthusiastically, “I would… do anything for you.”

Rei suddenly pulled herself up onto her knees on the couch and turned to face Mari. She leaned forward and placed her hand on Mari’s cheek and stroked gently with one of her thumbs.

“I… have a request to make of you.”

“Ooh a request and what exactly would that be?” Giggled Mari as she also shifted her body around.

Rei leaned in closer to Mari before she spoke. Mari found her body sliding down the couch until she was onto her back, Rei positioned above her. As Rei spoke, Mari focused intensely on her deep red eyes, “I would like you to promise me that you will return safely, I do not wish for any harm to come to you or Asuka.”

Mari was lost in Rei’s eyes as the blue haired girl straddled her, her knees either sides of Mari’s hips and her hand still resting softly on Mari’s cheek. After a time Mari nodded, “I promise, we’ll return safely.”

Rei leaned in closer and planted a firm kiss on Mari’s soft lips. It was a different kiss to the ones that they had shared up until now. It was deeper and more passionate. There was some awkwardness on Rei’s part as their lips parted and their tongues met. After a time the kiss was broken, the two of them blushing immensely.

“Rei I…”

Rei cut her off, “I apologize but I am… not sure what I should really say or do at a time like this. There are certain things that I wish to do but I am…”

Rei’s cheeks turned a deeper shade of red as she trailed off. As she trailed off a sly smirk found its way onto Mari’s face as she reached up to stroke her hand through Rei’s hair. Mari quickly realized just what it was that Rei wanted to do. From the passion of the kiss they had shared, the trembling of Rei’s hands and their awkward placement on Mari’s body it had become quite obvious.

“Are you nervous?” Mari teased.

Rei nodded, “This is… completely new to me. I have not had the opportunity to explore sexuality before outside of what I learned from books, in school or the knowledge I gained from talking to Shinji.”

Mari raised a curious eyebrow, “Completely new to you… so you haven’t ever…”

Rei shook her head, “I have not done anything of a sexual nature before, not even exploring it on my own. It is only more recently that I have had these sorts of feelings and felt a desire to deal with them. I have you to thank for that.”

“I feel quite honoured by that.” Mari giggled again, “So hold you… you spoke to Shinji about this?”

“Yes, I felt that I was able to trust Shinji and knowing that both he and Asuka are engaged in a sexual relationship that he might be able to offer some advice on the subject.”

“Annnnd?”

“He seemed to get flustered at first and wanted to discuss something else.”

Mari threw her head back and laughed. She gazed back up at Rei and slowly worked her hands up along Rei’s sides and up to her shoulders. She stopped for a moment and massaged gently, watching as Rei’s trembled slightly and let out a satisfied sigh. Mari then worked her hands downwards along the front of Rei’s body.

“So not very helpful then?”

“After some coaxing… he offered some advice.”

Mari felt herself grin, “Oh… the puppy passed along some tricks? Well I noticed Asuka smiling a lot more lately so I’m very interested to learn what his secrets are!”

The grin quickly faded as Mari turned serious for a moment, she looked over Rei’s body one more time and took in just how beautiful Rei looked at this moment in time. This had been something Mari had been wanting for quite some time. She had dreamed about and envisioned times such as this when she would have Rei in this position.

“You know Rei… you don’t have to do this. We can wait until another time if you aren’t ready. I know you’re nervous about the mission tomorrow but… both me and Asuka will return in one piece. There will be another opportunity, we can wait.”

Rei nodded, “I know but I am sure that I want to and am ready for this. This is not to do with your mission but is something I have been contemplating for some time.”

“Oh… and just how long have you been contemplating this?”

“From the first moment that I kissed you.” Rei admitted. She then took Mari by surprise and suddenly leaned in to kiss her once again. Mari returned the kiss and their tongues met once more. Just as before there was some awkwardness and trepidation in Rei’s movements.

Rei was starting to get more adventurous as her hands explored Mari’s body. They ran up her sides, across her breasts and along her stomach. Despite how light and awkward some of the touches were they were still managing to make Mari feel good.

Finally the kiss was broken again as Rei leaned back. Mari looked up at her and smiled, “In which case Rei… I guess I’m all yours tonight.”

XXX

The more Asuka looked at Shinji the more she could find herself getting annoyed by him. It was clear that there was something bugging Shinji this evening. She could see him fidgeting nervously every few minutes and he kept on clenching and unclenching his hand as was his usual habit.

He however wasn’t saying anything and any attempt to engage him on conversation had led to him to just say he was nervous about the mission tomorrow. Asuka knew a little bit better and wasn’t willing to let this continue any longer.

She slid herself down on the couch whilst he was staring off into space. Slowly she raised her leg and brought her foot closer to his head and lined it up with its target. Shinji still hadn’t noticed her peculiar movements and she had to stifle a giggle as her big toe poked Shinji in the ear.

“AH!” Shinji jumped away as the ticklish sensation reached his ear.

Asuka threw her head back laughing as he looked back at her frowning. After a moment he sat himself down next to her.

“What was that for?”

“Because you’re annoying me! Sitting there all deep in thought and being bugged about something!”

Shinji sighed, “Sorry…”

Shinji glanced around the room knowing that he had to get this over and done with. He had been trying to figure out the best way to tell Asuka about the footage for most of the evening. Unfortunately he had not been able to come up with anything as of yet.

“Instead of apologizing just tell me. What’s bugging you? Is it about the mission tomorrow? I’ve already said it’s all going to be fine!”

He shook his head, “No it’s not that it’s… It’s something I should have told you earlier but I just… didn’t get the chance to. Do you remember that meeting I had with that WILLE Director?”

“Pirani? Yeah of course, what about it?”

“In that meeting she shown me something… I wanted to tell you about it earlier but I didn’t get a chance to. I had to work out how I felt about it and then… you had to fight the Angel. After that we found out about Kaji and I just haven’t been able to bring it up… I wanted to tell you.”

“Right, so what is it?”

“What do you remember of Third Impact?”

Asuka shrugged, “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Please just… what do you remember of it?” He asked her again.

“Nothing.” Asuka stated flatly, “I was in a coma, remember?”

“Oh… yeah…” He gazed downward uncomfortably, “But you… did you see anything of it afterwards? Video or something?”

Asuka bit her bottom lip, “Yeah… once. Same footage everyone else saw, can’t really remember it now but yeah I watched it. You yelling that you didn’t care about what happened to yourself of the world and everything going to shit. Not something I wanted to see again as you can understand, what does that have to do with anything though?”

“That wasn’t everything that happened…” Shinji admitted, “There was something else afterwards that no one had seen.”

“Wasn’t… What do you mean?”

“According to Pirani the footage they had up until now cut out after the portals opened and people can only remember up to that point as well but… there was another Eva there. It stopped Third Impact Asuka… but no one knew about it.”

It took a moment for Asuka to really process what Shinji had said to her. She had seen the footage of Third Impact only once and never had a desire to watch it ever again. Now however Shinji seemed to be telling her that what she had seen wasn’t really all of it. She straightened up and fixed her gaze on him, “What?”

“When I was in Unit 01, just after I got Ayanami back I felt something hit me. It was like I had been stabbed through the chest and I passed out afterwards. When I woke up it was on this ship after you recovered me.”

“Right… So what are you saying something did hit you? There was so much flying around though so it could have been anything!”

“It wasn’t though, it was a spear similar to the one that we… well that me and Kaworu tried to pull out back in NERV. It impaled me and that ended Third Impact.”

Asuka’s eye widened in shock as he spoke, she yelled out, “Ended Third Impact? You mean… stopped it?”

Shinji had a weak smile, “Yeah… kinda they don’t know what happened but on the video it impaled Unit 01 and everything stopped. No one knew about it until the video appeared and they still don’t really know the truth about it.”

Asuka shook her head in shock, “But… that doesn’t make sense. I asked Misato and she said that she saw it start and they were knocked unconscious but after waking up it was still happening but ended naturally. It… are you saying someone stopped it and…”

Asuka trailed off, “They said Unit 01 had gone missing as well. I… Shinji does Misato know about this?”

Shinji nodded sadly, “Yeah I think so but… she hasn’t said anything to me about it or anything else. I don’t know if she believes it or not but…”

Asuka stood up and walked towards the window, she gripped at the side tightly for a moment before kicking at the wall angrily.

“She knows! Yet you’re still… what the hell is going on? So what? We’ve all been tricked into thinking you caused Third Impact? Something else caused it? Misato knows about this so why the hell are you still wearing that goddamn collar? Why are you still… why haven’t you demanded it be taken off or been to see her?”

Shinji shrugged, “I don’t know…”

“You don’t know? Are you stupid? Shinji this is huge!”

“I know that Asuka but… it doesn’t matter really does it? I still started Third Impact so without that whoever stopped it wouldn’t have had to do that. That’s what I’ve been struggling with, I know it’s big but I don’t know if it really changes anything for me. What I did still started Third Impact and people know that…”

“Yes but it means that someone stopped it and then intentionally started it! What you did was an accident and it got stopped before any damage had been done! I can’t believe you’ve kept this quiet it’s…”

Asuka sighed, “It’s exactly something you’d do!”

“Sorry I… I didn’t mean to make you mad.”

Asuka made her way over to him and cupped his cheek with her hand, “You should have told me earlier! We need to go to Misato immediately after tomorrow’s mission. This has to be dealt with Shinji.”

Shinji looked up at her and shook his head, “I-I can’t… I can’t face her yet. She’s… I’m…”

Asuka shushed him and moved in closer, “Look! I know this isn’t easy but we have to do this. You don’t have to say or do anything. I’ll do the lot for you but this… this can’t be sat on any longer. If she knows about it and hasn’t done anything about it we need to find out why.”

Shinji looked like he was about to protest but Asuka quickly silenced him by pressing her lips up against his. After some time she pulled away, “Just… forget about it for now. We’ll deal with this tomorrow. I’ve got a much better idea for what we can do tonight.”

XXX

Both Asuka and Mari stared out of the cockpit of Evangelion Unit 02 across the huge expanse of land before. From this position they could just make out the strange cross-shaped object that was their target. Around the cross roamed a vast number of Tripod-like Nemesis Series creatures. Neither of them knew how many of the figures there were but Asuka had stopped counting when she reached a hundred.

Asuka glanced at the cross and fidgeted anxiously at the sight of it. It was remarkable similar to the one from the first ever attempt to rescue Shinji. These sorts of objects were not an uncommon sight in this world now but they rarely interacted with them and they had never actually uprooted one before.

She always hated feeling nervous before a mission. Asuka was supposed to be an elite pilot, she was supposed to have nothing to feel nervous about especially with a mission as easy as this. All they had to do was run in, forge a path through those figures, grab the object and run back to the Wunder.

Asuka did suspect that the nerves and tension she felt were likely not being helped by Shinji’s revelation about the Third Impact. At first she had been angry at him for not telling her sooner but she had remained calm. It was understandable that he hadn’t done yet and as he had said so many things had happened that just got in the way.

She was still angry at the situation as a whole though. For years she had to live with being told that it was Shinji that had caused it. Asuka had tried to believe that he hadn’t, that he wasn’t capable of it but she had been shown proof. Asuka had been out of action for months, been in a coma for the Third Impact so she had no reason to question any of it.

Now however she had found out that she would have been right to question it. She was finding out that she and everyone else had been lied to. It wasn’t the lie that made her angry though, lies were part of the territory when it came to anything related to NERV. What made her angry was that the one person who also knew of this being a lie and was capable of doing something was seemingly doing nothing at all.

_‘That’s going to change when I return Misato… there will be no celebration after we retrieve this object. Instead I’m going to get Shinji and I’m bringing him to you, we’re going to find out exactly why you haven’t done anything about this. You’re going to remove that godforsaken collar and explain.’_

“Well there certainly is a lot of them isn’t there Princess?” Mari suddenly spoke, interrupting Asuka’s thoughts.

Asuka flashed a smile back towards Mari, “Certainly is, not scared are you?”

Mari flashed a grin back at her, “Hah, wouldn’t know what being scared is! Besides you know me, running headfirst into what looks like certain death is my specialty!”

“Only certain death here is on the part of the Nemesis Series. You seem to forget who is piloting this thing, all you have to do is sit back and enjoy the moment.”

“You expect me to just lie back and enjoy it, but where is the fun in that? Come now Princess you know how much I enjoy being an active participant in things!” Mari laugh, “Besides Akagi has fitted this thing out with a few new toys and I’m very eager to play with them.”

Asuka smirked and turned her attention back to what was in front of them. She could see a few of the creatures shuffling slowly. She wondered if any of them were aware of the presence of the Wunder or Unit 02 or what was about to happen. So far from their observations these things seemed fairly docile, just wanting a set area like a bizarre herd of cattle.

“What new toys?” She finally replied.

“A few additional countermeasures to secure our defense really. I’m able to actually see what is happening behind us now thanks to a new camera system she put in there. We’ve got a lovely new positron weapon that I can control mounted on the shoulder and ooh… you’ll really like this we have defensive spikes in the shoulder pylons in case anything tries to sneak up on us!” Mari gleefully pointed out each new addition to Evangelion Unit 02.

Asuka simply nodded and glanced at the displays around her confirming the addition of the new systems to Unit 02. Each of the new systems were set up to be controlled by either pilot, she saw that the secondary pilot had control of them for the moment and left them that way.

She glanced forward again just in time to see the first rain of fire from the Wunder falling onto the battlefield.

“Well Four-Eyes, are you ready?”

“When aren’t I? Let’s do this!”

XXX

The large tactical display hovered above the bridge of the Wunder. Sat below it were the four members of the Wunders bridge crew, each one focused on their given tasks. Standing above them on the command platform was Misato Katsuragi. She kept her eyes focused on the screen in quiet anticipation of what would happen next. If they were right the first aerial bombardment should be making contact with the enemy any second now.

Although she was making the attempt to stay focused on the mission she did find that her thoughts kept on wandering to something else. To the boy who would likely be watching this display from a window somewhere on the ship. She wondered just what he was thinking at this moment in time and more importantly what would happen when she finally met with him again after this was all over.

She had attempted to rehearse something in her head to say to him. Some speech or routine that might help but so far nothing she had came up with sounded good enough. In the end she decided that the best course of action would be to start with saying 'I'm sorry Shinji' and then going from there. It was going to be painful, she knew that but she was ready for it. It was time to confront that pain, to explain all that had happened and to move forward. Things could never be like they were but they could be better.

_'I can't think about that right now, I need to focus on this mission. If we're successful then it will change everything. I know Kaji was certain of that fact and if he was then... so am I. He was right about Shinji after all... I should have listened to him.'_

"Captain!" Misato was rocked from her thoughts by the sudden exclaimation, she looked acrorr to see the pink haired Kitakami was looking her way.

"Yes?"

"Aerial bombardment has landed and all five targets have been hit. We've launched drones that are transmitting images of the battlefield now."

Misato gave her a nod, "Get them up on screen, I want to see what damage we were able to do."

A brief moment later the live feeds from the drones appeared on the overhead display. It was easy to see the impact zones from the aerial barrage and much to his surprise it looked as if their attack had been more successful than originally anticipated. She could see signs where the tripod figures had taken direct hits. Parts of them lay on the ground and others were moving around in apparent confusion.

Whether they had gotten lucky or were weaker than expected Misato did not hesitate in initializing the next part of the plan. There was no room for error during any of this, she turned back towards Kitakami to give her orders, "Initiate a second barrage. Ritsuko... order the TARKUS Units into position."

XXX

Asuka didn't hesitate for a second as she brought the massive form of Unit 02 forward. Ahead of her she could see that the fighting had begun. Familiar orange glows given off by A.T. Fields could be sighted and there was the sound of gunfire. From behind her she could sense, just as she always could now, Mari's wide grin as she worked on whatever she had to do.

Mari hummed a happy tune as they entered a jog, "Well Princess... it looks like the initial barrage has managed to take out a few of them. All five TARKUS Units are moving in and engaging them too."

"Wonderful!" Asuka nodded as she kept running forward, "You know I still hate that name for those Units."

"But it's a good name and besides you like that song don't you?"

"It isn't a problem with the song! It's the fact that TARKUS was a giant armoured armadillo tank and these things aren't."

Mari smirked at the imagery of the armadillo-tank, "Would you have been happier if they were armoured armadillos?"

"Ye-… No! That would be stupid, who the hell would build a tank that looks like an armadillo?"

"The people behind that song?"

"Yeah but that’s prog rock, it's allowed to be all... weird!" Asuka gritted her teeth and got Unit 02 to speed up a bit more. Gripped tightly in both of Unit 02s hands was a double edged blade. It had been decided that given the number of enemies they were likely to face that it was a much more appropriate choice over the traditional progressive knife.

Mari was humming again, this time the opening bars to Tarkus which even Asuka had to consider an impressive feat considering the complexity of the song. Asuka looked up to see them approaching the first line of machines. It seemed that some of the tripods had recognized Unit 02 coming towards them and had formed a defensive line to block their path.

Asuka frowned and called back to Mari, "They're lining up for us? How nice of them!"

"Aww we got ourselves a welcoming party! Well let's hand over our gifts then!"

Asuka nodded, "Let them have it Four-Eyes!"

With those words Mari brought up the controls for the new shoulder mounted positron cannon that Akagi had installed. The weapon was a much more slimmed down version of some old prototype weapons that had been used during the initial wave of Angel attacks. The idea was that Mari could use it in a situation where Unit 02 found itself surrounded, given that some of their more recent encountered involved large numbers it was a useful addition.

Mari gripped her own controls and focused on the enemy to the far right of the pack. She took aim and fired a blast directly at the creature’s torso. The blast struck the creature tearing a hole through the torso. It was thrown backwards before landing on the hard ground with a loud thud and sending smoke and dust flying upwards.

"One down! A few hundred to go!" Mari exclaimed excitedly.

Asuka smiled and watched as the initial attack seemed to spur the other tripods into action. The remaining five started to move forward just as Asuka brought Unit 02 to slide forward. She readied the blade and just as she reached an appropriate distance swung around her slicing through the legs of one of the other creatures. She followed up immediately by spinning Unit 02 around and bringing the blade vertically through the torso of it before it had even hit the ground.

"Two down! What are you waiting for Four-Eyes fire at one of the others!" Asuka shouted as the remaining for started to surround Unit 02. They had backed away as if fearful of the range of the blade Unit 02 carried.

"No can do Princess! Gotta wait for this thing to recharge, you know what these positron weapons are like, always keeping a girl waiting."

Despite the smile on her face her eyes kept darting nervously to the metre signifying just how long was left to recharge the weapon.

_'Come on damn you, charge!'_

As she looked up she saw one of the tripod figures suddenly deploy a large funnel like object from its shoulder. There was a flash and suddenly a large beam of light burst forth from it. Mari yelled out.

"ASUKA LOOK OUT!"

Asuka had already started to dodge out of the way before Mari had yelled out. In response she swung the blade around wildly cutting through her attackers shoulder and diagonally downwards. Just as she sliced through it Mari found herself able to aim and fire another shot. She took aim at one of the figures behind them and fired and watched as it fell to the ground.

"Four down!" Mari yelled out excitedly.

Asuka swung again taking out a fifth machine and without waiting for a gap leapt over the fallen body of one of the tripods to slice downwards through the sixth of the initial wave. Out of breath she brought Unit 02 into a standing position and looked forward towards their destination.

"T-There's no end to them..." She said as she watched more of the machines shuffle towards them, their weapons positioned and aimed directly at Unit 02. She knelt into a fighting stance and readied herself to dash forward.

As she was about to do so she ground beneath her suddenly started to rumble and shake. Asuka felt a sick feeling of déjà vu as she did all she could to stay upright. She started to take a step forward but as she did so a razor sharp blade suddenly sprung out of the ground. This was immediately accompanied by others appearing in between her and the target.

"No... not again..." She whispered.

She surveyed the battlefield realizing that this had gotten more serious than they had originally anticipated. These things were dangerous and there was no higher ground for them to run to this time. They were alone here.

She felt Mari's hand on her shoulder, "Hey Princess..."

Asuka turned to see Mari was grinning, "We've got this okay. Will be easy and besides... I really need to see Rei again especially after last night."

Asuka smirked as she realized what Mari was implying, "Pervert... Fine yeah... we got this. Let’s get this done, wouldn't want to keep you two apart for too long!"

"That's the spirit Princess!"

XXX

Kitakami, report! What is happening down there?” Misato asked, her voice echoing around the command centre.

“Unit 02 has engaged the enemy, out TARKUS Units have also engaged but… something strange is happening Captain. They’re reporting absolutely no resistance at all from the Units they’re engaging. Instead the Units seem to be ignoring them and are converging on Unit 02’s position!”

“Shit!” Misato exclaimed as she moved forward to view the overhead display again. They had recalled their drones so all they had on the map were rough estimates but it did seem to confirm what Kitakami had just told her. That these strange members of the Nemesis Series were indeed ignoring their support Units and were trying to go towards Unit 02.

Misato turned towards Ritsuko who was looking up at the map, her expression contemplative as she watch things unfold.

“Do they know what we were planning or are they… are they after the Eva?” Misato asked.

“It’s unlikely that knew what we were planning but we know so little of them or how they operated we can’t rule it out. It’s possible that they simply perceive Unit 02 to be the biggest threat to them so they’re pooling their resources on taking it out.” Ritsuko replied trying her best to maintain her composure.

Misato simply glared back up at the map, “Damnit, if this keeps up Unit 02 will be overwhelmed and won’t even make it to the target. We can’t recall it either, not now we’re too close.”

Misato thought about their options for a moment until an idea struck her, “Ritsuko, is it possible for the Tarkus Units to recover the artefact instead? They’re small enough that they won’t even need to recover the entire object!”

Ritsuko looked up, “It’s possible but we’ll need all five of them to work together to achieve it. That’s the heart of enemy territory, we can’t risk sending only one in.”

“I understand, it’s better than nothing. Open communications with Unit 02.”

“Done.”

As soon as the channel was open Misato could hear the sound of fighting from the other side. She kept her words brief, “Asuka, Mari, listen carefully. There has been a chance of plan, all the Nemesis Series are converging on your position. You are to hold them off for as long as possible, we’re going to use the TARKUS Units to recover the artefact. As soon as they have it and are outside of the perimeter we want you to withdraw immediately. Understood?”

It took a few moments for the reply to come but eventually it did, Mari was the one to deliver it her voice ragged as the fight was taking its toll, “Understand Misato… we’ll do what we can!”

Misato let out a sigh as the communication channel was closed. She listened to Ritsuko passing along the new instructions to the pilots of the TARKUS Units. As soon as Ritsuko was gone she beckoned Misato over with a worried look on her face.

She kept her voice low, “Misato… we have another problem.”

Misato glanced at her, “Another problem? What now?”

“It’s Asuka…” Misato’s heard sank as Ritsuko uttered those words, it sank even further as Ritsuko continued, “The contamination levels we picked up… they’re present and they’re rising.”

“Oh dear god… is she in any danger?”

Ritsuko shook her head, “Not yet but… the more she is out there the more at risk she is. You know what we have to do.”

Misato’s eyes widened with fear and she felt a sick feeling in her stomach. That was not the news she had wanted to hear on today of all days. A part of her wanted to argue with Ritsuko, to tell her to ignore what she was seeing but that was a risk that even she wasn’t willing to take.

“I understand… keep an eye on them and if they reach… and only if they reach that point then we’ll take action.”

XXX

Asuka finished bringing the blade down on another of the Tripod’s just as she heard Mari firing another shot at one looming behind them. She had no time to think about how many they had destroyed by this point nor did she have any time to regroup as she found herself having to dodge out of the way of one of the ribbon-like blades coming out of the ground. She was unfortunately only able to dodge into the path of a blast from one of the weapons of the Tripod-Figures. All she could do was offer a high pitched yelp as the pain mapped itself onto her shoulder. Behind her she could hear Mari whimpering in pain too.

The two of them were sweating immensely, the battle taking its toll on them. Asuka’s limbs were aching from the connection with her Eva. She felt it every time the Eva was hit, every time it had to move or dodge out of the way it was mapped onto her own body.

She raised her A.T. Field just in time to deflect another blast from an approaching Tripod. With whatever strength she could muster she darted forward and brought the blade arcing upwards slicing through the body of the figure. As she did she dug the heels of Unit 02 into the ground and swung the blade around behind her trying to cut down any of the ribbon-blades that were approaching.

As she made the effort to get back up she suddenly became aware of the shadow of yet another Tripod looming over them.

“MARI!”

“Already on it!” Mari called back, she brought up another display and instantly the left shoulder pylon of Unit 02 opened and propelled a series of spikes towards the looming machine.

Asuka grimaced with pain as once again Unit 02 was upright. Her breathing was heavy as she was able to look around briefly. There was still no end to the machines that were approaching, her only hope was that the order would come soon for them to make their retreat or that a miracle would happen and all of these Tripods would suddenly drop dead. Asuka certainly had no intention of giving up.

_‘I can’t… give up… I need to keep fighting but this… I can’t… I don’t have the strength…’_

She cast the thought away and yelled out as she suddenly had to dodge backwards from an oncoming attack by a ribbon-blade. She cursed loudly as another was able to graze the leg of Unit 02 and she felt her anger rise as she leapt over the fallen carcass of another machine only to find herself in the path of a blasé from a tripod.

“TAKE THIS!” She yelled out and swung the blade around cutting down a figure.

“How many…. Of these bastards are there Princess?” Mari asked.

“Hell if I know!” Asuka called back as she deflected yet another attack. She deflected another and another before rushing forward and cutting down another creature. Mari aimed the positron weapon taking down another.

Both of them were vaguely aware of the hammering together of A.T. Fields in the distance. The TARKUS Units had reached the structure containing the artefact but it looked like their job was still nowhere near complete.

Asuka leapt up and over another attack from a blade. She shuffled to the left to dodge a blast from a Tripod and then shuffled right to dodge another. She leapt up ready to deliver a fatal blow to the machine but her eye widened as one of the ribbon-blades suddenly popped out of the ground. Asuka did all she could to bring Unit 02 to a halt before one of its limbs were sliced clean through.

She dug her own blade into the ground using it to try to halt her momentum. It did its job but she felt herself losing grip on the blade and before she knew it Unit 02 was sent tumbling to the ground. She felt the head of Unit 02 collide hard with the ground and the pain was immediately transferred to her. She could feel a soft warm trickle down her face and realized that she was now bleeding.

Slowly she turned Unit 02 around onto its back and looked upwards. There were two ribbon-blades dancing in front of her and they were surrounded by Tripods.

_‘No… no no no no… I’m not… I’m not going to lose… I’m not going to die! I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die!’_

“I DON’T WANT TO DIE!” She screamed out and gripped the controls tightly and raised the hand of Unit 02 just as one of the blades moved forward.

In that instant time seemed to move in slow motion for her. She looked around the cockpit only to see everything fade away from her and leave her in complete darkness. Her heart leapt into her mouth as she tried to turn around to find Mari. Mari was not there, Asuka was completely alone. She pulled back on her controls forcefully.

“What… What is this?” She stammered out.

_“Asuka…”_

Asuka looked around the darkness for the source of the voice. It was a woman’s voice, soft, comforting and familiar yet terrifying.

“What… what…”

_“Asuka… let me help you.”_

“Help… I don’t… I don’t need anyone’s help.”

_“I can lend you my strength… you are weak… let me help you Asuka…”_

“No I… I can’t… I…” Asuka tried to get her words out but as she did so there was a white glow in front of her. She looked up into the eyes of the figure and smiled as it reached out with a hand.

“I… I understand.” Asuka muttered and smiled, “I understand!”

Asuka blinked and in an instant she was back on the battlefield. The ribbon-blade that was heading towards them collided with the outstretched hand of Unit 02 but Asuka felt no pain. Instead the blade split in half on impact as Asuka started to yell out.

“I AM…”

Asuka tighted Unit 02s hand around the blade and pulled it towards her tearing it from the very ground. She grabbed the blade and stretched it out with her hands before Unit 02 up into a standing position.

“NOT… GOING…”

She dashed forward holding the blade out and using it to decapitate one of the tripod figures.

“TO… LOSE!” She roared as she felt a strange surge of power within her.

It was a unique sensation as if something within her body had suddenly activated itself to give her this second wind. She looked up and could feel something akin to a flame where her damaged eye was. She smirked as she spun Unit 02 around effortlessly kicking away another of the Tripods.

_‘I understand what the Eva is now! I know what is inside, I know the strength it can give me! I can do this!’_

Mari nervously looked forward and gasped at what she was seeing. She had been one of the first in NERV to activate the beast mode of an Eva so she knew some of the effects but that had been stripped out of this version of Unit 02 and what she was seeing now was not that same thing. Asuka was changing in front of her, a bright blue glow was emanating from the girls eyepatch and she could see from this angle her features changing.

_‘Oh my god… what the hell have you done Princess?’_

XXX

“Misato! We have a major problem! Asuka’s contamination levels are way too high, we need to do something now!”

Misato move frantically to Ritsuko’s position and confirmed what Ritsuko had told her. She had wished that maybe Ritsuko had made a mistake but it was true, that sinking feeling in her stomach developed further as she realized what it was she was about to do.

_‘Asuka is… she is going to hate me for this but we have no choice…’_

“What’s the status on the artefact recovery?” Misato asked.

“They’ve broken through the A.T. Field and they have it. That isn’t the point, Misato we have to do something about Asuka. The plug depth is starting to exceed recommended depth and the level of contamination is at an all time high. If we don’t do something then we…”

“I know! We risk Asuka, Evangelion Unit 02 and Mari.”

Misato paced back to the tactical map and to Ritsuko again, “Open a channel to Unit 02.”

“Misato we are risking Asuka’s humanity here!”

Misato ignored the recommendation and instead opened the channel herself, “Unit 02, this is Captain Katsuragi, what is going on?”

 _“Oh hey!”_ Replied Mari after a few moments.

“Mari what is happening out there, is Asuka safe?”

_“Negative on that one! Princess has lost it, she’s activated some kind of beast mode or something and… I can’t seem to do anything.”_

“Misato we have to act now!”

“I know!” Misato shot back, “Mari… we’re transferring complete control to you. Your orders are to return to the Wunder immediately!”

_“Right-O!”_

“Ritsuko… do it.” Misato cast her gaze downwards, “Activate the suppression agent on Asuka. Make sure she is completely unconscious and then transfer control of Unit 02 to Mari. I want Asuka placed in quarantine as soon as she returns.”

“Misato I’m not happy about this either.”

“Don’t!” Misato stopped her, “We… we knew the risks and that’s why we have the system in place. She might hate us for this and for not telling her about it but that’s better than losing her.”


	15. Run Like Hell

Asuka finally opened her eye again to find herself floating in total darkness. She hated the darkness, it was in the dark where everything could get to her. It had been tolerable in the last few weeks because she now had Shinji next to her but this time he was nowhere to be seen.

She looked around and narrowed her gaze in an attempt to try to see something, a shape or wall but there was nothing around her. Asuka was completely alone in this place with no idea as to how she even got here.

The last thing she could remember was piloting the Eva during the mission. Evangelion Unit 02 had been surrounded by those strange Tripod Machines. One of them was about to attack Unit 02, she could remember that quite clearly.

_'What did I do? I froze again didn't I? I wasn't able to move or get out of the way in time so I held out my hand in some attempt to stop it but then what...'_

A feeling of panic started to set in as she recalled just what had happened next. She had raised the hand of Unit 02 to stop it and it had felt like time had frozen. Suddenly the world had dropped away from her, just as it had done fourteen years ago.

_'Did I... Did I die?'_

"Hah, die? What are you stupid?" Replied a voice that she recognized to be eerily similar to her own. It didn't sound like her now though, it sounded younger with that hint of arrogance she had before the Third Impact.

As the voice finished speaking the ground suddenly started to shake beneath her. Asuka made an effort to maintain her balance and looked around frantically calling out, "W-Where am I?"

Asuka asked her question and all of a sudden there was a bright flash of light. She felt something shove her backwards and she landed on some sort of seat. As the light dissipated she looked around to find that she was no longer in the dark but was now within some sort of train carriage. Asuka looked up out of the window to see the sun setting over the city of Tokyo-3.

 _"Well... here we are in this place again. It's always here isn't it?"_ Spoke the voice again. This time Asuka could see its owner. She was sat across from her and was wearing a yellow sundress. It was definitely a younger version of her, Asuka was unable to see the face clearly due to the girl facing down but she could see no trace of an eye-patch.

"Where is this place?" Asuka asked.

The younger Asuka opposite her laughed,  _"What does it look like you idiot?"_

"Tokyo-3 but this makes no sense. Am I dreaming?"

The young Asuka shrugged and nodded her head to the right,  _"Ask him, he's been here before."_

Asuka slowly turned her head towards one of the other seat. She looked across in shock to see Shinji was sat there his head down. Clutched in his hand was his SDAT, trailing up to his ears were the earbuds. He slowly took out both of them out and looked at Asuka.

"Shinji... what are you doing here?"

Shinji gave her something of a sorrowful smile, "This is where we come sometimes when... we reach into that which she shouldn't. You're just like me now."

Asuka frowned at him, "Just like you? Shinji what are you talking about, we already know we're alike. I mean our mother's and..."

Shinji shook his head and cut her off, "Not in that way, you accepted its help didn't you? You let it used its full power. Just like I did."

"I..." Asuka trailed off thinking back to the battle. She could remember what had happened now, she could remember the fear she felt as she was about to be hit. She could remember the anger she felt as she fought and the desperation she felt as she thought she was going to die. Then she could remember seeing the entity that had sprung forth, the figure of an older woman. Her voice soothing and her presence warm and inviting.

Asuka could remember the happiness and joy she felt as the entity passed over and through her. It was only for a brief moment but it had felt like nothing she had experienced before, or at least for a very long time. Being in that things presence was like reclaiming something she had lost a long time ago.

"I... did what you did?"

The Shinji opposite her said nothing, instead he looked away and put his earbuds back into his ear. He spoke, "We are not alone any longer Asuka, we can both advance now. Do you understand?"

Asuka shook her head, "Wait I don't... I don't understand."

The younger Asuka opposite her now spoke,  _"Time to wake up..."_

"WAIT I NEED TO KNOW MORE, WHAT DID I DO?"

As Asuka yelled out there was a final flash of light and this time when she opened her eyes again she found herself in what she recognized as a quarantine room onboard the Wunder. As she sat up she groaned in pain, her limbs were still aching from the battle earlier that day, adding to her dismay she could feel her body was completely covered in sweat, likely a result from the bizarre dream.

The room was remarkably similar to the one she had spent so much time in after coming out of her coma fourteen years ago. There was a toilet and sink in one corner of the room, partitioned off for privacy. A shower cubicle, also partitioned. A bed, and various other basic amenities. Along one wall was the giant observation window for visitors. At the moment the window had been set up to allow her to see into the observation room. Normally it would be made up to look like a mirror on this side.

Asuka gingerly got herself out of the bed and started to try and piece together what had happened to her. She felt disgusting as the gown stuck to her body and she wanted over to the window. As she wandered over a feeling of panic swept up inside her.

The voices in her dream had been right, something had offered her power within the Eva. She had accepted it and anything afterwards was a complete blank. She picked up speed rushing towards the window to look for any signs of life.

_‘Did I… Did I end up doing the same thing Shinji did? Did I end up pushing the Eva too far just like he did? No… I couldn’t have done, otherwise I wouldn’t be on the Wunder. Why am I in here though and not in the medical wing? Where is everyone?’_

As she passed over the cold tiled floor she glanced down to see that a small digital tablet had been placed against the wall underneath the observation window. Curiosity got the better of her and she picked it up, wondering if perhaps whoever had brought her in here had left it behind. There was something already open on the device, part of a report written by Doctor Akagi.

_‘At approximately 1043 we large surge of Q-Particles was detected within Asuka’s body. It is our belief that these Q-Particles are remnants from when Asuka was invaded by the Ninth Angel fourteen years ago. This surge is in fact the third recorded incident in the past few months and the most severe._

_On experiencing this surge of Q-Particles we lost contact with Pilot Shikinami and it was reported by her co-pilot that physical transformations had taken place on Asuka’s body. Whilst we have seen this before when pilots have activated what we call the Evangelions ‘Beast Mode’ this was also accompanied by a loss of control of the pilot and the lowering of depth of the entry plug. These circumstances endangered both pilots, the Evangelion and even put it at risk of ‘Awakening’ in a similar fashion to Unit 01 many years ago.’_

Asuka’s hands started to tremble with fear and anger as she stayed focus on reading what remained on the tablet.

_‘It is for those reasons that the call was made to sedate the pilot and transfer control of Evangelion Unit 02 to Makinami. Asuka has been placed in quarantine until we can decide on a more appropriate course of action and until we are sure she is not a danger to the Wunder and its crew. In the meantime Makinami will be made the sole pilot of Evangelion Unit 02.’_

“Like hell she is!” Asuka yelled out, “This… this isn’t true! I didn’t…”

She trailed off and continued to read.

_‘In truth we should have expected something like this to happen. This was why we decided on a dual entry plug system for Unit 02. I am just surprised that it happened so soon. It does however confirm that the contamination caused by the Ninth Angel is still within her body and that if she pilots again there is not only a risk to her but to the rest of the world. My only hope is that Asuka understands this.’_

“No… no no no no NO!” Asuka shook her head, “I didn’t… I don’t… They can’t do this to me! They can’t take Unit 02 away from me like this! They can’t… It’s not… It wasn’t like fourteen years ago it was… it was something else… I’m not contaminated! They promised me!”

Asuka gripped the tablet tightly in both of her hands and felt her body start to shake with anger. She looked down at the report once more trying to take it in.

“I was lied to! They told me I was fine and that nothing was there anymore. The two of them knew this all along! They lied to me just like they’re lying to Shinji! What the hell is going on here? I can’t… I can’t…”

Asuka felt more rage surge up inside her, she screamed out, “YOU BASTARDS!”

The tablet hit the wall on the opposite side of the room and broke into a number of pieces on impact. Asuka felt her breath shorten as she turned around and hammered her fist against the glass separating the two rooms.

“LET ME OUT OF HERE YOU BASTARDS!”

She hammered against it again, “LET ME OUT! EXPLAIN WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING TO ME!”

She continued hammering, ignoring the pain being caused by her futile efforts, “GIVE ME BACK MY UNIT 02! EXPLAIN WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED! TAKE ME BACK TO SHINJI!”

Finally she sank down to her knees and felt the tears trickling down her cheeks as everything she had just learned ran through her head. What she had thought to be true had turned out to be a lie. They had lied to her and when what they were scared of happened they had just abandoned her and left her alone. Discarded her like she was nothing.

Asuka looked up, “If they were lying to me about this then what else are they lying about? I can’t trust them anymore. If they couldn’t tell me this then what else haven’t they told me? They know all about Shinji and the truth of Third Impact and haven’t done anything about it. This is just NERV all over again… I can’t be here anymore.”

Almost as if in response to her words the door leading into the observation room suddenly opened. Asuka turned around and wiped away her tears using the back of her hand and awaited the visitor. After it was clear there was no one there she cautiously rose to her feet and made her way to the door. All she found was an eerie silence on the other side.

She stepped into the room and could see a table with a few items on it. Two of the items were plugsuits, neatly folded. She identified the first one as being her own but the second one she knew as belonging to Shinji. Positioned on top of her plugsuit was another digital tablet. This one also had a message on it but not as long as the first.

_‘By this point you’ll have seen my ‘gift’ if it can truly be called that. You’re a smart girl so I fully expect you’ll already have come to this decision but if not I am telling you that you need to leave. You need to take Shinji and get off the Wunder. These is something rotten within WILLE and unless you and Shinji get away from the Wunder you are both at great risk. I urge you to take my gifts and get to Unit 02 immediately. I have made sure your path is clear and I will be waiting for you.’_

Asuka set down the device and felt a feeling of unease in her stomach. She didn’t know what the think now, whoever had left both the plugsuits and this message had also left her Akagi’s report to read. They also were urging her to leave the ship. She wondered for a moment just what she should do. Maybe this was some sort of trap to get hold of Unit 02 but that didn’t make any sense, besides the person also said that they would be waiting for Asuka and Shinji.

_‘No… it was right, there is something wrong with WILLE. We knew it for a long time. NERV managed to get in somehow and now… I need to get away from her. If I don’t then… then they can get to Shinji. I won’t let them. I have to protect him. That’s my purpose now, contamination be damned. I’m not letting them end this world.’_

Asuka sighed and removed the hospital gown throwing it down to one side. She quickly put on her plugsuit before grabbing Shinji’s and the keycard that had been left behind for her. She gave the room one final look before starting to make the journey back to her quarters.

XXX

Shinji glanced at the clock for what must have been the hundredth time in the past hour. Twelve hours had now passed since he had been told that Asuka and Mari’s mission had completed. Mari had told him that it was a success but that Asuka had been taken to the medical bay immediately afterwards and Shinji was to stay put in their quarters until she returned.

He had asked what was wrong and why he was unable to visit her. He had even tried to force his way past her only for Mari to promptly put him back into the quarters and grin at him.

_‘Sorry puppy, it’s nothing for you to worry about though. Just sit back and relax, she’ll be back soon. That’s all I can do for ya.’_

Whilst her words had told him Asuka was fine her eyes told a different story. He had seen those eyes before, he had seen them when he had come back from fighting an Angel himself or whenever Asuka returned. Before he could press her further she had already backed out of the room and he was locked in.

Since that moment he had tried to wait as patiently as he could for news of Asuka. He didn’t know why Mari would lie to him, or even if she was. Maybe it was just his imagination but if all was fine then why wasn’t he able to go and see Asuka? Why wasn’t she back?

He had tried to distract himself since that moment by doing other things. He had baked some cupcakes for Asuka’s return and tidied up the quarters as best he could. He had even set things up to run her a nice bath for when she got back. As evening drew near he cooked himself a meal and settled down to play some video games but the distractions they all brought were now gone. All Shinji was able to do now was watch the door, his eyes darting to the clock every so often whilst he hoped that Asuka would step into their quarters at any point.

_‘Something happened to Asuka didn’t it? No one wants to tell me what it is or what something happened but I’m not an idiot. I know this isn’t a normal situation. Why won’t they tell me though? They know what me and Asuka are to each other. Do they think that I wouldn’t be able to take it if she was hurt or something?’_

Shinji hated the idea that Asuka could have been seriously hurt during the mission today but it hurt him more that people weren’t telling him what had happened. He didn’t want Asuka to be hurt by any means but if she was then he was going to be there for her. He would help her in any way he could. He knew that it’d likely be tough, especially with someone like Asuka.

Shinji could only imagine what she would be like if she did have to rely on him for help like that. She would most likely hate it. He’d probably be yelled and screamed at by her at first. She would probably tell him a hundred times how she doesn’t need his help. He knew why she would do that though, he knew that it’d just be her pride talking and he knew how to deal with it.

He let out a long eye as once again his eyes turned to the door. A part of him was telling him that maybe he should just go to bed. There was after all nothing that he was able to do right now and he didn’t feel like anyone was going to come by at this hour. Communication out of the room had been cut off so any attempts of that nature were pointless. He was completely isolated.

_‘I want to be here just in case though… even if it takes all night I’m going to stay here for her.’_

XXX

Mari turned herself over once again in her bed and closed her eyes tightly to try and get to sleep. She knew however that very little sleep was going to come to her tonight. Each time she closed her eyes all she was able to see was the image of that transformed Asuka in front of her. She could see it perfectly, the glow of the eyes, the shape of her fangs and the loss of humanity. More disturbing she could remember the glare she got from Asuka before the girl was sedated. Pure hatred and anger within her.

Mari was no stranger to the extreme toll that the Evangelion’s beast mode had on the human body but what had happened to Asuka seemed different to that. Usually when tapping into the power of the Eva like that they expected a few changes to the body. The changing of the teeth to fangs, the glow of the eyes and an increase in primal urges as the primitive functions of the Evangelion were accessed.

Yet in those cases despite the increase in aggression and changes to their bodies the pilot always remained in control. They would still be able to respond to others and if necessary stop what they were doing. Asuka had gone far beyond that. It seemed to Mari that in that moment, the person in front of her had ceased to be Asuka and had become something else entirely.

It chilled her to the bone, Mari had absolutely no desire to lose her friend to something as horrific as that. What scared her even more were the feelings that passed through her body as she tried to wrestle control of Evangelion Unit 02 back. Everything negative washed through her body. She knew the Eva’s did have a soul and a will within it but she had never felt it like this before. It was like Evangelion Unit 02 hated her for taking control from Asuka.

Mari shuddered as she quietly peeled back the covers and got out of the bed. She took a look behind her and smiled at the nude form of Rei Ayanami on the other side of the bed. Rei was sleeping peacefully and Mari took a moment to admire her. She suppressed an urge to reach out and lightly stroke the girl’s cheek lest she wake her and instead just smiled.

_‘You’re so beautiful blue, even when you sleep.’_

Mari felt some guilt as she had not told Rei the truth of what had happened just yet. She had instead used the same cover story for Rei that she had been told to use regarding Shinji. Asuka was fine, she had been taken to the medical bay and as of now no one was able to visit her. Despite Rei’s personal growth recently she was not the sort to question this sort of thing. She accepted the explanation and expressed a wish that Asuka gets better soon. Somehow that just made Mari feel worse about the situation.

Mari had also not told Rei about any of the troubles she was having regarding Kaji’s death or her feelings since the mission. She knew that Rei likely suspected something was up but in typical fashion Mari just flashed her a grin, told her all was fine and suggested they resume their new activities from the night before. Mari had learned two things from this, one was that Rei was a quick learner and very eager to explore further and that Rei was also incredibly ticklish in certain places.

So instead of confronting them Mari ignored her troubles. Her troubles could wait for the moment and Rei didn’t need to know about them yet. There were much more important things to deal with.

XXX

Shinji finally felt himself start to drift off just as the door to the quarters opened. Shinji leapt up from the couch and before he was able to say anything Asuka strode through the door. He looked across in confusion to see she was wearing her plugsuit and had something clutched under her arm. From the scowl on her face she did not seem to be in a good mood.

“A-Asuka… you’re back! What happened?”

Instead of saying anything she threw the item she was holding towards him. He caught it to see that it was his plugsuit. She simply nodded towards it, “Put that on, I’ll explain on the way.”

He glanced down at the plugsuit and then back to Asuka, “My plugsuit? Asuka what… isn’t it a bit late for the simulator? What’s going on?”

She shook her head and spoke again, Shinji couldn’t help put pick up the annoyance in her voice, “Not the simulator. We’re leaving the ship. Just hurry up and put it on. We don’t have much time.”

Shinji draped the plugsuit on the side of the couch and started to move towards her, “Asuka what’s going on? What happened to you? Mari told me you were in the medical bay, is… is everything alright?”

She held out a hand to keep him away from her, “Shinji, I am absolutely fine. Just do as I say and put on the plugsuit. We need to leave now!”

“But…” Shinji started to protest again.

“WILL YOU JUST DO IT!” Asuka yelled suddenly, Shinji immediately jumped back from her, his eyes widening with fear. He watched as her gaze dropped, she moved forward and softly cupped his cheek with her hand. He could see her body shaking as she spoke to him, her voice much softer now.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to yell. It’s just… this is really important. Do you trust me Shinji?”

Shinji nodded reaching for her other hand, “You know I do Asuka.”

“Well then please just do as I ask right now. You need to put that plugsuit on and then we need to go to Evangelion Unit 02. We need to get away from the Wunder, there is… something really wrong and we need to get away.”

For a brief moment Shinji considered protesting again or even suggesting that Asuka gets some more rest or returned to the medical bay. What he was seeing was certainly not what he had expected from her and he began to wonder exactly what had happened. All this was doing was confirming his suspicion that Mari had lied to him and something was wrong but just what it was he didn’t know.

“Asuka… has something upset you?”

“You have no idea Shinji, you really don’t. What were you told about where I was?”

Shinji replied, “Mari said you were taken to the medical bay. That I had to wait here until you got back. Nothing else.”

Asuka sighed, “That was a lie, I wasn’t in the medical bay. I’ve been… somewhere else. Something happened on the mission and I learned something. We have to leave.”

Shinji looked back to the plugsuit and nodded, “Fine, I trust you Asuka.”

“Good.”

Shinji picked up the plugsuit and considered ducking into the other room to put it on. From the way Asuka was talking he had to be quick so he promptly removed his clothes there and then before stepping into the plugsuit. He brought it up over his shoulders and ensured it was on properly before pressing the button that molded it to his body.

As Shinji finished putting on the garment he watched Asuka take out two backpacks and start to fill it with a few things from the quarters. He saw her put a first aid kit into each one, a few bottles of water and some rations. When she had the two of them filled she tossed one of them to Shinji.

“Here, take this. We leave now.”

Shinji put the pack on over his shoulders and just as they were about to leave he pulled on her hand stopping her. She looked at him with minor annoyance before he pointed to his neck, “Wait, what about this? If they detect I leave then they might...”

Asuka looked at the DSS Choker and gritted her teeth. She hadn’t considered that when they had travelled to the quarters. She was unable to remove the device itself but she did know it had a limited range. If they could get far enough away then it wouldn’t matter. Maybe after that she could work on a way to remove it.

“Don’t worry about it, we’ll be long gone before they even notice we’re missing. Besides, they aren’t going to execute you. It’s little more than a fashion accessory now.”

Shinji nodded back at her hoping that she was right, “O-Okay… let’s go then.”

XXX

They had ran all the way from Asuka’s quarters to the Evangelion hanger. Shinji had noticed that the corridors seemed thankfully yet strangely empty and much too both their surprise as they rounded the final corner to the hanger there was no one in place to guard it.

Asuka cautiously approached the door and ducked her head inside as it opened. Once she was sure the coast was clear she beckoned for Shinji to follow her in. She took a quick look around to see if the source of the aid she was given was anywhere to be seen before making her way over to a console to start the launch procedure for Unit 02.

Shinji in the meantime took the opportunity to catch his breath after running most of the way here. He looked up at the form of Unit 02, this was the first time he had seen the new version up close. He could see the large entry plug above it being moved into the appropriate position on the Units neck. Below he could see the large doors that would open to allow Unit 02 to fall down to Earth.

“Asuka… what is happening? Why are we running away and why did they lie to me about where you were?”

 Asuka didn’t take her eyes off of the console, “We’re running away because we were lied to and because… someone advised me to do so. As for why they lied to you, I don’t know. I wasn’t in the medical bay though, instead I was kept in quarantine for all that time.”

“Quarantine? What happene-” Shinji started to ask but before he could finish his question a familiar voice echoed through the room. The two of them froze in position and slowly turned around to confirm the person who the voice belonged to. Shinji immediately back away as he saw Misato walking towards them.

“So you made it then? I’m happy that you’re taking my advice.”

Asuka slowly turned around and scowled at Misato, “You!”

Misato glanced at her and smiled, “Yes me. How else did you think you were able to get out of that room and around the ship like that without anyone knowing? How else did you think you were going to bring Shinji here without me knowing?”

Asuka took a step forward, “You mean… you’re the one who left that note for me? Akagi’s report too? It was you?”

Misato said nothing but only nodded. As soon as she did Shinji watched as Asuka’s hand clenched itself into a fist. The made a move to dash forwards towards Misato but before she could leave her position Shinji had moved towards her and placed an arm around her waist. His touch was light and certainly wouldn’t have held her back but she did stop herself.

None of her anger subsided through as she yelled across to Misato, “You know what was happening to me Katsuragi! You and Akagi knew all along and you failed to tell me! Even when I asked you said nothing!”

Misato’s face softened, “Yeah… I knew. I knew for a while and I made the call to now tell you. I know this doesn’t make things any better but I’m sorry Asuka, if I had known something like this was going to happen then I wouldn’t have made that call but… I did and I’m sorry.”

Asuka snarled at her causing Shinji to tighten his hold of her, “How long did the two of you know about the contamination?”

Shinji looked up in shock, “Contamination?”

Asuka looked at him, “Yeah contamination. From the Ninth Angel all those years ago, remember how I told you about them saying I was fine. Turns out they were lying to me all along! There was something there. Go on Misato, tell me how long you’ve known!”

Shinji looked across as Misato, starting to feel anger himself, “I-Is that true?”

Misato nodded, “Yeah it’s true. It isn’t… it’s more complicated though.”

“How long did you both know?” Shinji asked the question for Asuka.

“Since the two of you returned. Ritsuko flagged up that something happened back then and that was why the dual entry system was used with Unit 02. It was our hope that the presence of another pilot would prevent that sort of thing from happening again.”

Asuka made an attempt to move forward but Shinji kept her in place. He pulled her into more of an embrace as she yelled across.

“I ASKED YOU BOTH AGES AGO! YOU BOTH SAID THAT I WAS FINE!”

“I know what we said and we thought that was true… we didn’t see a reason to worry you with it.” Misato let out a sigh, “Look Asuka, I wish I had time to explain everything that has happened. It isn’t… as clear as it seems though. There are other things in play but yes… I made the call to hide this from you, I thought if you knew then it would…”

“It’d what? Come on Misato spit it out! What did you think was going to happen? That I’d get angry? That I’d be upset? No I know what it is, you were scared you’d lose a pilot weren’t you? You were frightened that I’d regress to how I was fourteen years ago or otherwise be unable to function. You couldn’t risk that happening to you didn’t tell me the truth, just like you can’t face Shinji and tell him the truth about Third Impact. You’re nothing but a coward!”

Misato looked up again, “So Shinji told you…”

“Of course Shinji told me! What I want to know why the hell hasn’t anyone done anything about it? Why is he still being treated like a prisoner and…”

Misato shook her head and cut Asuka off, “He isn’t! Not anymore. Look Asuka I really can’t explain everything but I will try to as best I could. I know I don’t deserve to have you hear me out but I thought what I was doing was for the best. I’m sorry for lying to you and for the way I’ve treated Shinji and… god knows I don’t deserve this but I need you to do something for me, I need you both to take Unit 02 and get away from here.”

“Why?” Asuka bit back.

“Because you’re both in danger and it’s the only course of action left. Please, just trust me one last time.”

“And what about the danger I pose? I saw that report Misato! It said about the risk to my body and humanity! It even said that there is a risk of me causing an awakening in an Eva, so why let me go like this?”

Misato glanced down, “Because I don’t believe that what is in that report is completely accurate and even if it is… you two are the only hope this world has of surviving regardless of some goddamn Angel inhabiting your body!”

She continued, “I know it’s a risk Asuka but the two of you… you’re capable of amazing things. Please just get Evangelion Unit 02 ready to go. We are running out of time.”

Asuka wrestled herself free of Shinji’s grasp and made her way over the console again but not before shooting a look Misato’s way.

“Fine. Just to get away from this place though.”

She went back to work on setting up Unit 02 and as she did so Shinji turned himself around to face Misato. He no longer felt the same fear he had been feeling for the past few weeks when she was around. Maybe it was because the Misato he was seeing now was more like her old self, he could see her emotions coming through and he could see how broken she was. In a way he felt sorry for her and yet at the same time he found himself hating her for what she had done.

“Shinji can I… can I talk to you. If… you’ll allow that Asuka?” Misato spoke, her voice shaking as she did.

Asuka looked back towards Shinji and just shrugged, “It’s his choice, not mine.”

Shinji wondered just what he should do he looked to Asuka for some kind of advice but she went back to looking at the console. Finally he nodded, “Fine…”

He walked over to Misato and stood a short distance from her. There was an awkward silence as the two of them looked each other in the eyes. Neither of them seemed to want to say anything until eventually Misato took a step forward. She sank down to one knee to meet his height and pulled him into a hug.

“Shinji… I’m… I’m so sorry…” She started to speak but trailed off as the words got caught in her throat. Shinji didn’t move instead he stood there as she pulled away and looked him in the eyes. Tears were flowing freely down Misato’s cheeks as she held onto his shoulders.

“Shinji… I’m so sorry about everything I’ve done to you. I know I don’t deserve any forgiveness from you.”

“Misato…” His mouth went dry as he spoke and he could feel tears burning in his own eyes.

“I regret so much of what has happened. I regret the way I treated you when you were brought on board here, I regret not speaking to you properly then and explaining what had happened. I regret how I treated you when you returned, I regret not talking to you when I found out about Third Impact. I was… I was scared. I was scared of you and scared of what I had become. I thought the best thing to do would be to keep my distance and hope that it’d all work itself out.”

She brought up one hand to softly cup his cheek and used her thumb to wipe away one of the tears that was falling down his face. Shinji stayed completely silent.

“I saw the video Shinji of Third Impact and I know you didn’t do it. The truth is I always wanted to believe it even before that but I just couldn’t… I blamed myself for it because I was the one who told you to push that far. I was the one who said you should do things for yourself and look at what happened. Asuka is right… I am nothing but a coward, I projected my own guilt onto a scared boy and locked myself away.”

“Misato you… I was so scared of you! I thought you hated me…”

Misato pulled him in to a hug again and held him tightly, “Oh god Shinji I could never hate you. I could never ever hate you, you’re the closest thing I’ve ever had to a family in this stupid world. I just… I thought doing nothing was the best thing.”

“But… you did do something! You put the collar on me! You had me put into a cell and then you did this to Asuka!”

“I know! I know! I can’t ever make up for that, I don’t expect you to forgive me for any of it but I want to try to make up for it in some way.”

As Misato spoke Shinji felt her hands moving up to his neck. He felt her fingers lightly touch something there and a moment later the feeling of pressure that he had had to live with for months now slipped away. Misato pulled away from him and dropped the DSS Choker onto the floor.

“Please Shinji…” She now reached around her own neck and removed the cross shaped necklace that she was known for wearing. She held it out and in response Shinji held out his own hand. She placed it into his trembling hand.

“This is… everything you will need is there now. If you can… I need you both to finish what I’ve started because I can’t do it anymore.”

Anger flared up within Shinji, “Finish what you’ve started? Misato you’re… After what you’ve done you’re asking us to do something for you! Why should we?”

Misato looked towards the door of the hanger and then back at him, “You shouldn’t… I don’t deserve it and I know how unfair it is to place the fate of the world in your hands again but you’re the only two who are capable now. If you don’t then… this world is over.”

“Misato that’s… so unfair, what you’re saying it…”

“Look Shinji… After today I will no longer be Captain of the Wunder and I won’t have a place in WILLE. WILLE was infiltrated and we don’t know who by but it was. This is why I need to get you and Asuka off this ship, if I don’t then we all lose. I know what I’m asking and I know I don’t deserve to ask it but… you both need to find the tower and do what I can’t anymore. You’re the only hope this world has left.”

“What Tower? Misato I… I don’t know anything, I’m not a pilot anymore and… you can’t ask this of us!”

“I know I can’t! I know that Shinji and I wish there was some other way but there isn’t.”

“Misato…”

“Please Shinji… we’re out of time. Just promise me you’ll do… what you think is right.”

Shinji was pulled into another embrace and he felt his own arms slowly wrap themselves around her.

“I love you Shinji. Please don’t ever forget that, I know we can never go back to how it was but… all this time I never stopped loving you.”

Shinji nodded, “I… I love you too Misato.”

With those words Misato broke the embrace and shoved Shinji away towards Unit 02 and an Asuka who was getting more impatient. As he turned to leave Misato nodded at him him, “Shinji… what’s happening to Asuka. I think they’re wrong, I don’t think it’s the Ninth Angel at all. Please… tell her that and also… look after her. She needs you.”

Shinji wiped a tear from his eye and nodded back at Misato, “I will.”

XXX

Misato took a moment to regain her composure as she watched the hanger door finally come to a close. She wiped away any stray tears and stood up straight. She felt beyond awful about what she had done and even more so about making the request for Asuka and Shinji to finish what had been started. Yet she felt that she had to do it.

She didn’t know whether the two of them would carry out the mission. She certainly didn’t deserve for the two of them to fulfil the request and if anything the two of them should just settle down and make a new life for themselves.

She wondered where she had started to go wrong. Who it was she had trusted when she shouldn’t have done or which decision she had made that she should have made. In the end it didn’t matter, she wasn’t going to be able to go back and do it again. All she could do now was face up to her mistakes.

_‘I won’t be able to do a lot anymore but I’m still going to try. I’ll do what I can to show that NERV got into WILLE and something is rotten in this organization. I know someone killed Kaji and I know they tampered with the mission today. Asuka shouldn’t have been able to do that in Unit 02, the Dual Entry System made sure that was locked away.’_

It was the realization that someone might have tampered with the mission that had made Misato take such drastic action. On the transfer of control to Mari she had started to construct a plan to get Asuka and Shinji off of the Wunder. She knew that it would be tough for them and the risks to her were great but out of here there was at least a chance.

It was mere moments before the door to the hanger opened once again. Misato smirked as she watched the armed security team enter the room and surround her. Seconds later Maya Ibuki stepped into the room and made her way towards Misato.

In response to seeing her Misato withdrew the pistol she was carrying and placed it carefully on the ground. He put both he hands up and offered no resistance as Maya spoke into a radio.

“We have Katsuragi. Evangelion Unit 02 is nowhere to be seen nor are the two pilots, instructions?”

Seconds later Ritsuko’s voice came over the radio,  _‘Have the former Captain escorted to a cell, we are currently handling the retrieval of Evangelion Unit 02.’_

Misato kept the smile on her face as Maya walked around her in silence. Misato’s hands were then placed in a set of cuffs and she was prompted to start walking forwards out of the room towards the ships cells.

XXX

Shinji’s entire body was shaking as Unit 02 made its descent to the ground below. He looked up out of the cockpit to see the rapidly approaching ground. In front of him Asuka was skillfully navigating towards the harsh red landscape.

Neither of them had any idea where they were at this point. It had been at least twelve hours since the mission had finished. With how fast the Wunder could travel in emergencies they could theoretically be anywhere.

Shinji looked down and saw the cross shaped necklace Misato had given him. He clutched it tightly in his hand and felt the tears well up in his eyes again. He sniffed as one fell down his cheek. He brought up his hand to wipe it away just in time for Unit 02 to start to slow its descent and reach the ground.

There was a loud thud and dust and dirt was kicked up all around the Evangelion as it landed. Asuka quickly brought the Unit up into its feet and discarded the rocket boosters attached to it. She quickly span around until the Wunder was back in view and brought out Unit 02s progressive knife.

Shinji looked on in horror, “Asuka! We’re not going to fight them are we?”

“Don’t be so dense! We don’t have a choice right now! You heard what she said, we’re on our own now and I don’t think they’re gonna let us go just like that.”

“But… they’re people! We’re not supposed to fight other people!” Shinji protested.

“It’s either them or us! They’re the ones attacking us!” Asuka paused, “I’m not happy about it either but… if it comes down to it… I’m not ready to die nor am I going back to them.”

“But Asuka!”

“Shut up! Here they come!”

The two of them looked up to see the huge hulking form of the Wunder start to rotate itself. They could both see another door opening along the base and Asuka readied herself for the attack. She wondered if she should have just ran away. Unit 02 could have covered a lot of ground in this time but she also knew that the Wunder could have caught up quite easily

As she watched it something strange happened. The hanger door started to close again and the Wunder continued to rotate before moving further away from their position.

“They’re… leaving?” Asuka muttered in confusion.

Behind her Shinji breathed a sigh of relief, “We don’t have to fight them…”

“No… not today.” Asuka said, herself thankful that she didn’t have to fight other humans, “We should move then. Put as much distance between us as we can. Along the way take a look at what’s back there. I hope you won’t need it.”

XXX

Ritsuko locked her gaze onto the large overhead display. She tried to ignore the varied stares she was getting from the members of the bridge crew in relation to her recent announcement. She could not worry about how they felt in regards to Misato being removed as captain, there were more pressing matters.

“Kitakami, have the five pilots from earlier today rounded up and loaded into TARKUS Unit’s. We’re going to deploy them to retrieve Evangelion Unit 02. Inform them that the pilots are to be brought back alive and unharmed.”

Kitakami nodded and seemed to stutter, “Y-Yes Ma’am.”

Ritsuko now looked across at the other members of the bridge crew. Hyuga and Aoba were sat in their positions seemingly indifferent to the situation. The youngest bridge Nagara and Tama seemed to looking somewhat confident and pleased by the change of guard. The eldest member of the crew, Takao had his eyes locked firmly on her. His eyes drilling a hole into her. She ignored it, this sort of thing was to be expected after such a dramatic change.

In the end they would all learn she was only doing what she had to do. They would all understand in time.

“Nagara, bring us closer to the ground. Follow Evangelion Unit 02 at a safe distance.”

“Yes.”

Ritsuko placed one hand on the railing of the command centre as she felt the ship start to move. She glanced up at the display to see the eerie red landscape ahead of them. Eventually the form of Evangelion Unit 02 came into view and almost immediately afterwards a loud high-pitched alarm was heard.

“Kitakami, what’s happening?”

Kitakami turned around and looked up at Ritsuko in shock, “It’s… we’re getting a distress call from the southern outpost, they’ve detected an Angel.”

“Where?”

“North of here, back towards the French coast.”

Ritsuko tightened her grip on the railing, “Damnit, just what we need right now. Fine. Recall the pilots and tell them we are breaking off our pursuit of Evangelion Unit 02. Have them prepare for Angel combat instead.”

“Y-Yes.”

“Good, Nagara, put in a course for the Angels position and take us there. We’ll deal with our runaway pilots when this has been resolved.”

XXX

Asuka checked the clock on her HUD, it had been half an hour since she had started to sprint away from the Wunder in an attempt to put as much distance as she could between themselves and the ship. She was now starting to reach her limit. She was exhausted physically and emotionally. Every part of her ached so she started to bring Evangelion Unit 02 to a stop.

She looked around and saw they were in some sort of canyon. She carefully brought Unit 02 down alongside one of the cliff edges trying to make sure it was as hidden as possible from anything over head and lay the Unit down onto its side.

Behind her she was aware of Shinji sniffing quietly seemingly attempting to hide the fact that he was crying from her. She let out a soft sigh and ejected the Entry Plug from Unit 02 enough to allow them out onto the ground below.

“We should be alright now.” She said softly as she leaned back in her seat.

Shinji took a look around this landscape, in the darkness he could barely see anything but soft shapes indicating the walls of the canyons.

“Where are we?” He asked.

He watched Asuka shrug, “Hell if I know or even care right now. We’re just… we’re far away from that ship and away from them. We need to rest and we can find out where we are tomorrow.”

“Asuka… what happened during that mission?”

“I don’t want to talk about it. Not right now anyway.”

Asuka closed her eyes and started trying to process everything that had happened today. She wondered if maybe she should have seen something like this coming. If maybe she should have known that she would lose control like that. She had felt it in the past and asked about it but they had said nothing. She wondered if maybe she should have pushed harder for answers.

“At least… now I know how you feel I guess…” She muttered.

“What do you mean?”

“To lose yourself in an Eva… to completely lose control and not recover. That’s what happened to me Shinji, I was fighting and I thought I was going to lose. There was something there and… I just wanted to survive and anything else be damned. I let the damn thing take over me and then… If I had been stronger or something then I wouldn’t have…”

“Asuka you…” Shinji was immediately cut off.

“You know it was so easy to be angry at you when I saw you push the Eva like you did and caused it to awaken. It was so easy to blame you for losing control and doing that, like think that you must have felt it do what it was doing or you could have just stopped it at any time. I know that you weren’t really to blame but I just didn’t realize…”

“How easy it is to lose control in the Eva?” Shinji finished the sentence for her.

Asuka was still facing away from him but he could see her nod her head, “I just wanted to survive Shinji, I didn’t want to die. I’m scared of dying, I still have things I want to do here. So I let whatever it was in and take over me. I didn’t think that… I could have done what you did without realizing it. Even worse this is an Angel that’s inside me… I could have killed everyone!”

Shinji was shaking but he reached out his hands to her shoulders and softly started to massage them to calm her down, “Asuka you didn’t do that though, so it doesn’t matter.”

As he spoke he remembered the last thing Misato had said to him, “Misato said… she said she didn’t think it’s the Ninth Angel inside you. She thought it was something else.”

“Heh… like what she says matters and did she show you any proof? For all we know she’s just lying again.”

“I don’t think she was lying about something like that. I know what she did was wrong Asuka but… she did the right thing in the end didn’t she?”

Asuka raised her voice, “And if Misato had done the right thing sooner then we wouldn’t have had to run away like we have done! If she had spoken to you sooner or told me about this sort of thing a lot sooner then we could have done something about it! She’s… She’s an idiot! A fool! And…”

Asuka trailed off midway through her ranting and suddenly stood up out of her seat. She made her way around to the back of the entry plug before handing her head down, “It doesn’t matter what she is… we’re both stuck now and have to deal with it.”

Shinji couldn’t help but flinch as Asuka’s hand suddenly curled itself up into a fist before hitting the solid steel sides of the entry plug. She immediately drew it back and clutched it in her hand. Shinji reached forward to ask if she was okay but Asuka spoke again.

“I’m getting out of here…”

“Wait Asuka!”

Shinji reached out his hand but by the time he had made any movement she had already pushed the door to the plug open and had hopped out onto the ground below them. Shinji scrambled forward and also escaped into the coolness of the night. He looked ahead to see that she had stopped a few metres from the Eva and was looking up at the starlit sky.

Shinji remained motionless at the entrance to the entry plug and kept his eye on her. It didn’t look like she was going to go and further and had instead moved to looking down at and nursing her hand. Slowly he made his way over to her.

“I’m sorry…” He mumbled.

He head snapped upwards and he felt her glare, “What?”

“I said I’m sorry…” He repeated.

Asuka playfully punched him on his arm, “Idiot! What the hell do you have to be sorry for?”

All Shinji was able to do was shrug and smile weakly, “I… don’t really know. I just felt like I should apologize.”

She gripped onto his arm, God you’re so annoying! If you have nothing to be sorry for then don’t say you’re sorry! In this case I’m fairly certain you don’t have anything to be sorry for.”

“Sor…” Shinji started to say before feeling Asuka’s glare on him again. He stopped immediately and smirked, “It’s a habit…”

“Yes I had noticed!” Asuka replied dryly before sighing and looking around the landscape, “So… here we are again. Stuck on the wasteland only this time we don’t have a destination and no allies.”

“Yeah… no Rei here with us either this time.”

Asuka nodded, “True…”

Shinji tensed up as he thought of Rei and Mari still on the Wunder, “Asuka! What about Rei and Mari? Will they be alright?”

Asuka shrugged, “I don’t know… I haven’t even thought about it. I think… they’ll probably be fine. Mari has never really played by the rules as it is and she’s resourceful. If she needs to get away then she’ll do so and as for Rei… Mari isn’t going to let anything bad happen to Rei. The two of them will probably be fine.”

“I hope so… I don’t want anything bad to happen to them.”

“Neither do I. We can’t worry about it now though, we need to think of ourselves for now. We can deal with that when it comes to it.”

“So what do we do now?”

“I have no idea. I suppose we wait until morning and continue our journey. We’ve got enough supplies to last us two weeks and we have what Mari would call a sixty foot death robot to call our home. In the morning we’ll try to figure out where we are and locate the nearest settlement. Something untouched by WILLE and try to negotiate something.”

“A settlement untouched by WILLE? Those exist?”

He saw Asuka nod, “Of course, WILLE isn’t the only faction in this world. It’s the most powerful one but there are many settlements that exist outside of WILLE.”

“So if we find one what do we do then?”

“I don’t know!” She snapped again, “As hard as it is to believe I don’t have the answers to everything right now. We just make it up as we go along I suppose.”

“Sorry… I guess I just…“ Shinji fell silent and reached into his pocket. He rummaged around before pulling out the necklace Misato had given him. Asuka eyed it curiously recognizing it immediately as belonging to Misato.

“Misato gave you her necklace? Weird.”

Shinji nodded in response, “Yeah… she was acting all weird when she gave me it. She said she didn’t deserve our help but she wanted us to find some tower. She said that this’ll help us in some way.”

Asuka simply sighed, “Of course she did. She was obsessed with finding that thing, let’s take a look then.”

Shinji handed over the necklace and watched as she passed it over in her hand. Her fingers felt the smooth edges of the cross and she weighted it in her hand before passing it back to him. She had no idea how this was supposed to help nor did she know if they should even carry our Misato’s request.

“Are we going to help?”

“I don’t know, part of me says that we should just ignore her and run away but… from what I understand finding that thing was important and... Well I don’t really want to see this world end because of NERV or SEELE. If they were after it too then we have to stop them.” Asuka paused, “Don’t get me wrong I’m not doing this for Misato or WILLE… I’m doing this for us and so that I can see the looks on their faces when we save their asses.”

Shinji felt himself smile as she spoke, “I’ll help.”

“Damn right you will. For now let’s just forget about this whole thing. It’s late and I think we’re safe, we should probably get some sleep.”

XXX

Misato sat alone in her darkened cell, her back against the wall and her facing directly towards the doorway. All she had to keep her company in the time that she had arrived were her regrets. Regrets over what she had done since the rescue of Shinji Ikari, regrets over her treatment of Asuka, regrets over how she had acted as the captain of the Wunder and regrets over her relationship with Kaji.

She kept on going through all the things she could have done differently. From the first moment she had Shinji back on the bridge, to his return from NERV and even when she learned the truth of the Third Impact.

_‘Not that it’ll make any difference, I can’t go back and change my choices so why am I even thinking about it. All I can now is move forward and hope that they’re able to finish what was started.’_

Misato looked up as the room brightened slightly due to the opening of the door. She couldn’t help but smirk a little bit as she watched Maya Ibuki enter the cell. Maya was frowning, a clear indication of the status of Asuka and Shinji.

“So… they were able to get away then?” Misato teased.

“Only briefly, fortunately for them an Angel has been detected. We are currently on our way to destroy it.”

Misato stood up in shock, “An Angel? Where?”

“I’m afraid that that information is both off limits and no longer relevant to you. You can rest assured that we will engage and defeat the Angel with minimal problems and afterwards Evangelion Unit 02 will be tracked down and brought back here.”

“I would doubt that, they’ll be long gone by now.”

“Do you really think they can hide from us?”

Misato nodded, “I have little doubt.”

“We shall see. In the meantime I’ve been asked to bring you this. Enclosed are the details of the charges that will be brought against you. I would advise reading it carefully, I assume you will need it to properly defend youself.”

As Maya spoke she threw the small notebook across to Misato and then turned around to leave. She stopped one last time at the doorway, “I would advise you be careful in the way you act going forward Katsuragi. I do not think they will want to see you hurt when we bring them back.”


	16. Ride The Comet

Asuka’s eyes shot open and she rolled over to find that her body was covered in sweat. She slowly sat up and was immediately hit by an overwhelming feeling of nausea and dizziness. Without hesitating she scrambled to her feet and rushed the door of the entry plug and threw it open. She hopped out and was hit by a wall of heat and the glare of the sun.

She staggered over to a nearby rock face and leaned her head against it taking in deep breaths as she attempted to delay the inevitable. Behind her she could also hear the sound of Shinji hopping out of the entry plug.

_‘Oh god… don’t let him see me like this… anything but that.’_

“Asuka, are you alright?” Shinji was closer to her, his voice cracking with concern for her. Asuka shook her head as she took another deep breath.

“Fine!” She got the word out and swallowed, “Just go away!”

“But Asuka…” Shinji started to protest.

“Please just go-“ Asuka interrupted him but could only get halfway through her sentence before another rush of nausea hit her. This time she couldn’t fight it back and she sank down to one knee. She felt the pain shoot through her stomach as she emptied what little there was inside her onto the ground below.

She could feel Shinji’s shaking hands take hold of her hair and keep it away from her face, his other hand slowly rubbing her back. She let out a groan as she finally stopped and rested her forehead up against the rock again.

She was in so much pain now that tears had formed in her eyes and were trickling down her cheeks. She continued to take ragged breaths as Shinji silently tried to comfort her. Asuka was barely even able to remember the nightmare that had caused her to wake up in such a state.

“I thought I said… for you to go away…” She finally said after a short period of time.

Shinji ignored her, “Are you alright Asuka?”

“Of course I’m not alright!” She snapped at him, “I just threw up!”

“I know that but I just mean…”

“I’ll be fine, just… leave me alone!”

Shinji stood his ground, “I’m not leaving you alone if you’re not well! You wouldn’t leave me alone if I was like this!”

“I’m not you! I can’t…” Asuka was cut off from making her point but could only cringe as another stabbing pain shot through her stomach. She took another deep breath and let it out slowly. She didn’t really want to tell him outright that his presence right now and witnessing her in such a state was one of the most humiliating experiences she could have faced. She knew that he meant well and that it was all on her but she really didn’t want him nearby right now.

“Please… just wait for me back in the Entry Plug, I’ll be a few minutes.”

Shinji nodded and slowly backed away from her, “Okay I will but… if you need anything.”

Asuka turned and gave him a small smile, “I know… you’re right there but please Shinji… just go away.”

Shinji reluctantly turned around and went back to the Entry Plug, before he entered he shot Asuka a final concerned glance watching as she wiped away the tears in her eyes. She watched him as he stepped inside the plug before she gingerly stood up and staggered across to another section of the rock face. Once there she slumped down with her back to the wall and sat with her head hung low between her knees and just continued to breathe slowly.

_‘It’s been so long since that’s happened to me and of course it’d have to have happened now when I’m supposed to be strong for Shinji and us. It’s not like I’ve not had nightmares whilst being with him but not like that, last person to see me have a nightmare and wake up in this state was Mari.’_

Asuka sighed and looked up to the sky,  _‘Just as humiliating then as it is now. At least he had the good sense to keep my hair out of the way. One bright side to this.’_

With her body still shaking she slowly rose to her feet again and made her way back to the Entry Plug. She climbed up inside and saw Shinji sat up in their little makeshift bed at the back of the plug. He had his head down and was clearly upset at what had transpired. She rolled her eyes and climbed into the bed next to him.

“See Shinji, a few minutes and I’m all better again.” Asuka smiled weakly as she said it.

Shinji merely turned his head and frowned. He took him just how pale she looked right now and the sight of her body trembling and just glared at her, “No you’re not. Your body is shaking and you’re…”

Asuka waved him off, “It’ll pass it was just…”

She halted herself upon seeing his frown deepen. She was also just a little bit surprised at the authority in his voice. Frowning herself she realized she needed something to wash the horrible taste out of her mouth.

“Can you pass me my pack please?”

Shinji leaned over and passed her the pack. She pulled out one of the bottles of water and took a few mouthfuls from it.

“Look, I’m sorry I got angry with you. It’s just…” Asuka trailed off again and made an attempt in her mind to arrange just what it was she wanted to say correctly so as to not offend Shinji. In the end she decided to just be direct and come out with it.

“Don’t take this the wrong way but I’m not like you or the others. I don’t exactly do the whole showing weakness in front of people very well.”

“Oh really? I hadn’t noticed.” Shinji stated with more than just a hint of sarcasm in his voice. She smiled as he saw Asuka glare back at him.

“I’m glad to see your concern for me has changed itself to sarcasm. I’m just saying I’m not very good at looking weak or being ill in front of others. It feels embarrassing and just a little bit degrading.”

Shinji nodded, “I understand that, it wasn’t exactly nice the number of times I’ve been ill in front of you but it isn’t like you could have helped it...”

“Look just stop, I know I couldn’t and it isn’t like I’m not grateful to you for what you did. It’s just put a big dent in my pride that’s all. Especially considering it was all because I had a stupid nightmare.”

Shinji wrapped an arm around her, “A nightmare? What about?”

“I don’t know, that’s annoyed me straight away. You’d think if the stupid thing was going to make me sick I’d remember it. Are you surprised though? You of all people know just how fucked up I am and after everything we went through yesterday I guess I was due a bad one.”

Asuka paused, “I haven’t had a reaction that bad for a long time though. Woke up sweating too, need to swap to the spare plugsuit I have. This is so embarrassing.”

Shinji wasn’t sure what to say to her, for now he settled with pulling her closer towards him and hold her hand. He gently ran his thumb over the back of her hand wishing that he could feel them for real rather than through the material of the plugsuits.

“Will you be alright to move Unit 02 today?”

Asuka looked out of the Entry Plug door and gave a nod, “Yeah I’ll be fine. We’ll just take it slow at first I suppose.”

Shinji took a look out of the Entry Plug himself, “It’s weird that we’ll be travelling in an Eva. What happens if we do come across a settlement, won’t they be scared of us?”

“Maybe they will, I’m not sure. I haven’t had a chance to think about it yet. If we do detect anyone out her we’ll just have to plan carefully. We’re much safer in here than we are on our own though.”

Shinji nodded, “It looks like the Wunder didn’t come back for us last night either.”

Asuka gave a shrug, “Yeah, maybe they got recalled somewhere or whatever. It doesn’t matter why it happened let’s just be glad that it did.”

“I hope Misato is okay…”

Asuka frowned, “She’ll be fine. We shouldn’t concern ourselves with those people anymore though Shinji. We need to think about ourselves for the moment, let’s figure out where we are and go from there.”

“What about Misato’s necklace though, the tower too? Are we going to do anything about that?”

“No, not yet we aren’t. Our priority is to figure out where we are and then hopefully find a place to get more supplies. Anything like that can come later.”

XXX

Ritsuko stood up straight at the head of the large table in the AAA Wunders meeting around. Seated around the table was the Wunders senior staff comprising of Maya, Kitakami, Takao, Nagara and Tama. Finalizing the group were the two former NERV bridge technicians Aoba and Hyuga.

There was a noticeable sense of tension within the air with none of the seated individuals daring to make eye contact with one another, instead choosing to keep their heads down. The two exceptions to this were Maya whose gaze was fixed on a screen situated behind Ritsuko and Takao who had his gaze locked on Ritsuko herself.

Ritsuko tried to ignore the gaze of the senior member of the Wunders bridge crew. She had anticipated such a reaction from him knowing that he was possibly the most loyal of the crew members to the former captain. She calmly placed her hand down on the table and started to speak.

“Good morning to you all and thank you for attending this meeting. As the most senior members of the Wunders Crew I believe you are all owed an explanation regarding exactly what happened yesterday and how are going to progress.”

As she spoke she could see a couple of them exchanging worried glances. Many of them were around for the events that had transpired last night but were clueless as to the circumstances.

“As you all know last night saw the unfortunate removal of Misato Katsuragi as captain of the AAA Wunder. I want you all to know this was not a decision that was taken lightly and one that was made not only by myself but also from the WILLE committee. It was felt that given her actions within the last twenty four hours her removal was unavoidable.”

Takao finally spoke up, his voice as gruff as always, “So what exactly did she do?”

“Isn’t it obvious? She let those two escape!” Tama retorted.

“Escape? We don’t have proof of th-“

“Enough!” Ritsuko held up her hand to interrupt the argument, “Unfortunately Takao the situation is that Katsuragi did indeed help Shikinami and Ikari escape with Unit 02.”

Takao was unable to hide the look of shock on his face, “W-Why?”

“Her motivation for doing so is unclear at this moment in time. It is our belief however that Katsuragi might have been compromised emotionally. As you all know the Captain has been under a lot of stress lately, I’ve known Katsuragi a lot longer than all of you have and she has been prone to letting her emotions affect her judgement. In the past this has been beneficial but there will always be one time where things go a bit too far.”

The elder tech looked like he was about to say something else but he sat back in his seat listening to the rest of what Ritsuko had to say, “Katsuragi made no secret of her desire to destroy what was left of NERV even going to far as to say that this was the sole aim of WILLE at certain points. As you are all aware this is not true, our aim is to defend what is left of humanity not to partake in some revenge mission.”

Nagara looked up from her position, “What would prompt her to do this though? It seems a bit extreme.”

This time it was Maya who responded, “During yesterday’s mission things did not go exactly to plan. We feel that she was afraid that when the report of the mission got out she would lose her chance to continue her own personal crusade and put this into motion.”

Ritsuko nodded, “To elaborate on this point you each took part in the mission yesterday to recover the artefact. What you will not know is that during this mission we detected a number of anomalous readings within Pilot Shikinami. A call was made to have Shikinami sedated immediately and control of Evangelion Unit 02 transferred to Makinami.”

“What sort of readings?” Tama asked, a bit of fear in his voice.

“Spikes in blood pressure and brain activity. It was our belief that Shikinami was suffering some sort of panic attack within the cockpit. Makinami confirmed this by reporting erratic behavior from Shikinami. Of course we could not confirm it as we had lost visual but ultimately the call had to be made.”

Ritsuko paused for a brief moment, “That was a call that Katsuragi was highly reluctant to make. She was convinced to do this eventually and we did recover the artefact and Evangelion Unit 02. Katsuragi promptly left the bridge and was not seen or heard from again for a number of hours.”

“We got the artefact though didn’t we? So why did she help them escape? Hell why did she set that up?” Nagara asked.

“Despite the success of the mission we suffered damage to Evangelion Unit 02 and risked losing a pilot. Not only this but this sort of thing had been detected in Asuka in the past. We simply believe that Katsuragi feared that when the report of this got out that would be the end to her personal crusade. WILLEs committee was already contemplating recalling us to Neo-London and the surrounding settlements, especially with the resurgence of the Angels.”

Kitakami now spoke, “So in an act of desperation she set them loose.”

Ritsuko nodded, “Yes. Sometime after the return of Unit 02 Hyuga noticed someone was accessing a number of the Wunders internal security systems.”

Hyuga nodded in response, “When we first detected it we were unable to figure out exactly what was happening. They were accessing fairly routine things but over time we saw they were altering the security officer schedules and patrol routes. Of course by the time we figured that out it was already too late.”

“So she set it up so that Shikinami could grab the boy and the two of them escape in an Eva? That’s… madness! She’s insane!” Tama spoke up.

Ritsuko held up a hand to silence him, “That is unfortunately correct. We were too late to recover Asuka and Shinji before they escaped but we did manage to find Katsuragi who gave herself up promptly and admitted to what she had done. Now that we have the ‘what happened’ out of the way we move to what will happen next.”

Kitakami spoke up, “This leaves us without an Eva doesn’t it? What if there is an Angel? We got lucky last night but… that won’t happen again will it?”

Ritsuko frowned and shook her head, “We believe what happened last night was also the work of Katsuragi. It was little more than a decoy set up to allow Asuka and Shinji time to escape. You are correct that next time we hear the reports of an Angel it will likely not be a decoy. That is why we are now travelling back to Neo London. Once there we will take on board Evangelion Unit 08.”

Kitakami spoke again, “Unit 08? Isn’t that Mari’s Unit? Will she be willing to help us get them back?”

Ritsuko shook her head in reply, “As of now our priority is not the recovery of Evangelion Unit 02 and the pilots. We will instead be deployed on a patrol route of the European settlements instead. Evangelion Unit 08 will be deployed in case of an actual Angel attack.”

Tama spoke up, “With all due respect shouldn’t we be focusing on getting Unit 02 back?”

Ritsuko nodded, “Normally I would agree but those are our orders from the committee and I intend to stick to them. Now if you’ll excuse me I have to inform the pilots of Evangelion Unit 08 of their new duties.”

XXX

**Year 01011001**

A gentle breeze blew through the street kicking up a small amount of red dust from the ground as he strode down the path towards the large domed building. He approached the entrance and removed one of his gloves feeling the coldness of the air biting at his hand instantly. He quickly held his hand up to the bio-metric scanner and waited patiently for the door to slide open and allow him to enter the much less hostile environment of the dome itself.

Once inside he carefully removed his mask and lengthy black coat. He took a few steps inside and was greeted by a receptionist. She extended her arms to take the coat and mask from him. As he handed the items over he took note of the blank expression on her face and the monotone way in which she spoke.

“The others have already convened in the main chambers. They have asked that you join them as soon as possible.”

The man simply nodded, “I will, thank you.”

He stopped for a moment to watch the receptionist as she took his items towards a storage room nearby. Her movements were nearly android-like in nature. There was no hint of emotion on her face nor any warmth to speak of in her cold red eyes. Her silvery hair hung down to her shoulders.

He turned away sadly and started to walk towards the main chambers where the others would now be. Along the way he stopped when he caught a glimpse of his own reflection in one of the glass doors. He saw the same red eyes that the receptionist had and the same silver hair, although his was much shorter and messier. Unlike the receptionist his eyes and features still had the light of emotion inside them although he knew and feared that it would likely not be long before that light would be extinguished.

Finally he made his way to the main chamber and stepped inside. The chamber itself was more of an observation room. In the room were the other eleven members of the group. Through a giant window on the other side of the room was the larger space in which their plans were being put into action. As he gazed through the window he remembered his reservations regarding the plan, he was not sure if what they were planning would work. He wasn’t sure if what they were planning was truly the right thing to do. Yet they had reached the point in which it was the only thing they could do.

_‘So it has come to this, with our people having forgotten what it is like to live and our planet on the brink of death we must escape and start our lives anew.’_

“Good morning, I’m glad you could all make it here.” Announced the woman at the front of the room. She was to be the leader of the first group to leave the planet. As he watched her he could see a smile on her face but he knew that the light was fading quickly within her. They were going to have to move quickly.

She turned to look at the man, “Especially you.”

The man nodded in response and smiled, “It would have been most unfortunate if I were to miss such an occasion. After all the future of our race is at stake.”

He looked towards the window out to the construction yards. The two gargantuan super-structures were now complete. It would be these that would carry the future and hope of his people. The first was to be known as the White Moon and beyond that lay the second super-structure to be known as the Black Moon. It would be he and his chosen few who would occupy the White Moon, the woman and her chosen would occupy the Black Moon.

It was a gamble and everyone in this room knew that. Once they were placed into the structures they would cease to be in their current forms and become something else entirely. A progenitor that held the will of their people and would help guide their chosen worlds to a new collaborative destiny.

“Is this really the right thing to do?” Piped up one of the other men in the room. A much shorter man, his hair had not fully turned silver yet but was on its way. He was one of the youngest of the group.

He continued to speak, “I know this is what we all agreed on but there is no going back from this is there? How do we know that when we arrive upon these worlds we won’t simple repeat the mistakes we made here and doom another race? How do we know that when we arrive these places can even sustain our lives or that the life on there will survive?”

The woman at the front of the room shrugged, “The truth is that we don’t know any of those things. What we do know is that our race is dying and we are desperate. We have lost our homeworld to this shadow that has descended upon it. Our people no longer wishes, desires or dreams. They can no longer reproduce and they wither away. It is only us that remain that have any means of securing a future for our people. We have to act now.”

The first man spoke again, “In many ways it might be best to let our race die our as a result of this. Maybe this is our natural end like so many species have ended. Maybe this is just one part of the great cycle of death and rebirth that occurs in our galaxy but we are choosing to fight this path. With these two spheres, the Black Moon and the White Moon we will traverse the stars. We will be reborn and find a new home. We will leave our original forms behind and usher in new life to the places we have selected.”

All eyes in the room were on him as he continued to speak, “The stars we have selected already have primitive life on them. We can help nurture that life and aid it in its development. We can become one with these life forms and flourish once again. I understand there is skepticism within this room and I understand and share in your fears. This is our last chance though… this is our only chance.”

As he finished speaking he looked up and out the window towards the super-structures once again,  _“I do now know if we will succeed and if I believe in my own words yet I have to speak them. For my Queen who will lead those in the Black Moon and for those who will accompany me in the White Moon, we will do this. May the Migrator guide us all.’_

XXX

**Present Day**

Ritsuko had a strange feeling of apprehension as she watched Rei enter the officer flanked by two security officers. As Rei entered Ritsuko could see the frown on the girls face and the coldness in her eyes. She knew that it was likely that Rei would have heard something relating to the events of the past twenty-four hours by now. If Mari hadn’t found out and told her then she likely would have overheard overs speaking about it.

Ritsuko stood up and greeted the three of them before promptly dismissing the two officers. She made a mental note to ensure that in the future Rei would no longer need an escort to get around the Wunder.

“Rei I’m glad you could make it, please have a seat.”

Rei promptly sat herself down onto the chair nearest to the desk. As the two sat down Ritsuko couldn’t help but feel strange to see someone else occupy the seat that she would normally be in. It felt unusual for her to be on the other side of the desk. She quickly shook those thoughts from her head, she couldn’t allow any guilt to creep in because of her actions yesterday. She had done exactly what she had needed to do.

Immediately after sitting herself down Ritsuko’s kitten Spot emerged from behind the desk. It wandered up to where Rei was and sniffed at the girl’s feet for a few moments before hopping up onto the girl’s knees. Rei looked somewhat taken aback as the cat shifted itself around and snuggled down in her lap.

Ritsuko felt a small smile creep onto her face at the display. She however could not get distracted and started to speak.

“Rei, how aware are you of what happened yesterday?”

It took Rei a few moments to collect her thoughts but when she did speak it seemed that there was a trembling in her voice. Ritsuko couldn’t make up her mind whether it was anger or sadness, “I am aware that the mission yesterday did not go according to plan. Mari informed me of Asuka’s injury on her return. I have also been made aware this morning, again my Mari that Katsuragi is no longer the captain of the Wunder. She did not say why but left shortly after telling me. Are you going to tell me why?”

Ritsuko nodded, “That is… somewhat correct. The mission yesterday did not go exactly to plan and as a result of that we have seen some changes. Yes Asuka was injured yesterday and she had to be placed into a quarantined unit for a brief time. I regret that Mari was not able to tell you this. Those were orders from myself and Katsuragi.”

“I see, I am to assume Shinji was not told of this either then?”

“That would be correct. We felt it best not to worry the two of you until we could move Asuka to the medical bay.”

“I see. I do not like this decision.”

“I didn’t think you would, it is one that I think we should not have made. Maybe we would still have Shikinami on board.”

Rei’s eyes lit up immediately on hearing those words. She looked for a moment as if she was going to stand up but remained seated, instead focusing on stroking the cat gently.

“Shikinami… is no longer on board?” Rei asked softly.

“I am afraid not. Shortly after she was put into quarantine we lost track of Katsuragi. I cannot go into detail but Katsuragi was setting into motion a plan that would allow both Shikinami and your brother Shinji to escape with Evangelion Unit 02.”

Rei’s mouth opened slightly in shock, “I… do not understand. Why would she do such a thing?”

“We don’t know but the two of them were able to escape and that is why I had to replace Katsuragi as captain of the Wunder.”

Ritsuko watched the reaction on Rei’s face. She took no satisfaction in seeing the girl’s features change and the tears well up in her eyes. Rei blinked back her tears and instead looked down to focus on the cat “Where is my brother now?”

Ritsuko shook her head, “I’m sorry Rei but we don’t know right now. After they escaped we were called to fight an Angel which turned out to be a clever decoy put in place by Katsuragi. The last we saw of Evangelion Unit 02 was somewhere in Northern Algeria.”

“We will be going back for them?” Rei asked, a slight spark of hope in her voice.

“As of now we will not be. We have been called back to Neo-London for the time being.”

Rei could feel her heart sink upon hearing Ritsuko’s words. She felt like her world was starting to crash down around her. She was only just starting to get used to all these new feelings and people in her life and both Asuka and Shinji were an integral part of that. She never wanted to be apart from them and now the two of them were gone. She wondered just what Mari would make of all this and how much Mari knew.

“Rei, are you alright?” Ritsuko asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Rei shook her head, “No… I am not. I am confused and upset and I am scared of what will happen to Asuka and Shinji.”

“I understand. We’re concerned about them as well and when we are able to we will make recovering them our top priority.”

Ritsuko paused for a few moments, “I… feel there is probably a better time for this but this isn’t the only reason I called you here. When we return to Neo-London we will be taking on Evangelion Unit 08. This is Mari’s Unit and much like Unit 02 it has a dual entry system.”

"Yes." Rei said immediately, not even giving Ritsuko a chance to ask

Ritsuko smiled, "Yes?"

"Evangelion Unit 08, I will pilot it alongside Mari. That is what you were going to ask isn't it?"

Ritsuko gave a nod, "Yes it was but... I want you to understand something first Rei. I am not expecting you to pilot nor do I want to force you to pilot it. I want this to be your choice. Mari is capable of piloting it by herself and we could find another support candidate for her. Are you sure?"

"Yes. I want to sit alongside Mari. I am... not capable of much else in this world. I cannot contribute in other ways like Shinji could and I would like... if possible to aid in recovering them."

"Very well. I will require you to undergo a scan so that we can set up the plug with your data. We have your old data from NERV many years ago but I do not think it suitable now considering the changes you have undergone." Ritsuko reached into one of the drawers of the desk and pulled out a black notebook and passed it across to Rei, "In addition I think you should have this."

Rei took the book and looked at it curiously, "What is this?"

"It's documentation of your life from before the Near Third Impact. Medical notes, observations, school reports and a little bit more. I collected them thinking they would be useful but I have no need for them anymore. I think it might help you in your ongoing journey. I would advise reading through the marked sections to start with. What you do from there is up to you."

Ritsuko watched Rei carefully as she took the notebook from her. Rei immediately opened the book and made her way to one of the marked sections that Ritsuko had mentioned, her eyebrows raised in surprise as she nodded, "I see... I will look through them. Thank you."

XXX

Misato sat huddled with her back to the wall of her cell. She held her knees up to her chest with her arms wrapped tightly around them. All she could keep thinking was of Asuka and Shinji. If all had went to plan then the two of them should be far away by now. She wondered what the state of the Wunder was right now, if it had returned to pursue them.

_‘Even if it has with the time it took to get back into Europe, find out the Angel was a decoy and return to its original position they’d need a miracle to track down Unit 02.’_

All Misato had been able to do over the course of the night was sit and reflect on the current state of affairs. She kept on wondering just how things had managed to come to this, how she had let it come to this. She kept on seeing the image of Shinji’s face as she let him go once again into Unit 02 and watched as the two of them left the hanger.

Misato could feel tiredness settling in but she didn’t want to sleep just yet. She couldn’t let herself sleep until she knew more. All she needed to hear was that Asuka and Shinji were not on board the ship, that their position was unknown. Only then would she allow herself some rest.

_‘I’m such a fool. I let Asuka down, I let Shinji down and I let down all the people I was supposed to protect. All because I was unable to face my own fears or own up to my own guilt. I allowed myself to be blinded by so much else that I couldn’t face it anymore. I’m no worse than those that I claim to hate, I’m no worse than my father and I’m no worse than Ikari.’_

As she lowered her head down she immediately raised it again as the door to her cell opened letting in the light from the outside. Ahead of her she could see Mari standing in the doorway. Misato frowned in confusion at the sight of the girl. She was certainly not expecting a visit from Mari of all people.

Even in the dim light she could see the smirk on Mari’s face, “Well! I certainly never expected to see this. May I come in… Captain?”

“M-Makinami?” Misato uttered, “How the hell were you able to get in here. I thought Ritsuko would have banned visitors.”

Mari tapped a panel next to the room and a second later it was illuminated, “Much better, can’t have us talking in darkness can we?”

Mari stepped into the room and let the door slide closed behind her. She moved along to the bed and sat herself down before stretching out playfully, “As for how I get in… well you know how it goes. You have a typical male guard and someone comes along with my amazing assets…” Mari pointed at her ample chest with both hands, “Pretty much unlocks any door for you!”

Misato looked up at Mari, a look of horror on her face, “You… didn’t?”

Mari flashed her a grin, “Didn’t what? Let him have a little peak under the hood? Let him see what I’ve got going on under here? No! Of course I bloody didn’t! Who do you think I am, you?”

“Gee thanks…” Misato mumbled, “It was only once I did that you know…”

Mari laughed, “Besides, I’m not a single girl anymore. I can’t exactly go around flashing my tits at guards to get doors open. God knows what Rei would say. Although I could just imagine the doors she’d be able to open with her tits, they’re…”

“Mari is this really appropriate?”

Mari shrugged, “I guess not. Anyway I traded him a few extra food rations and reminded him that he owed me a favour for the time I smuggled some stuff back from Neo-London for him.”

Misato frowned, “I knew you were up to something when we were docked there!”

“Well you can’t really do anything about it now can you? Not that you really could have done back then. Probably a stern warning and…” Mari attempted to mimic Misato, “a warning to ‘Don’t do that again.’”

Misato couldn’t help but smile, “I suppose that’s true… so why are you here?”

“Intrigue mostly, I heard a small rumour that some strange things happened last night whilst myself and Blue were all wrapped up snugly in our bed. Something to do with the Princess and the Puppy hijacking Evangelion Unit 02 and escaping together.”

“Did this rumour happen to mention anything else?”

“Yeah, it went on to say that a certain Captain Katsuragi set up the escape and that she is now sat in a cell whilst Ritsuko Akagi is in charge of the Wunder.”

Misato shrugged, “Well as you can see… I am sat in a cell and…”

Mari finished the sentence for her, “Ritsuko Akagi Is in charge of the Wunder. So that leaves the mysterious case of the Princess and the Puppy. So what the hell happened Misato? Where did the two of them go and why did they escape with Unit 02?”

Misato looked across at Mari hopefully, “So… Asuka and Shinji aren’t on the ship? The Wunder didn’t capture them?”

Mari shook her head, “No, they’re not on board. The Wunder didn’t go back for them. Instead we’re going to Neo-London again to pick up my Unit 08! Just what the hell is going on Misato?”

“Hasn’t Ritsuko explained it to you?”

Mari shrugged, “Something about you helping them escape, hijacking security routes, blah blah blah… like I care what she has to say. I want to hear it from you Misato! Why did you help them escape and why the hell didn’t you tell me what you were planning? I thought that’s what the three of us had? You know I could have… and I would have helped you!”

Misato stood up in surprise at the sound of Mari getting angrier the more she spoke. All Misato was able to do was sigh, "You did help Mari. You helped by not knowing anything about it and doing exactly what I needed you to do."

Mari also stood up from the bed, "That isn't good enough! It was supposed to be us three in this together Misato! That's what... that's what we all said all those years ago wasn’t it? We were going to uncover the truth, take down NERV and stop whatever the hell it was that was happening and now... now it's all gone..."

Misato moved towards Mari immediately when she saw Mari bring up her arm to cover her eyes. She heard Mari give a soft sniff and drew her in for a hug, "Mari... I'm so sorry that it ended up this way. I'm sorry for this and so much more but... there were just things I had to do alone and I couldn't tell you because I couldn't put you at any risk. You have to understand that..."

"That's not fair Misato... I pilot and Eva and I'm more than willing to put myself at risk. You know that, you know what I'm willing to do for this."

Misato nodded holding the girl tighter to her, "Yes I do know Mari and that is exactly why I couldn't risk it. You aren't alone Mari, not anymore... you have people here who love you and need you. You can't be reckless anymore, what would Rei think? What would Asuka think?"

Mari pulled away gently and wiped the corners of her eyes whilst giving a laugh, "Heh, I guess you're right. I... I can't be like that anymore. I'm not the same person who hijacked Evangelion Unit 02 and smashed into an Angel anymore am I?"

"No you're not, and I wish Kaji had instilled a little bit more sense into you before letting you loose like that."

"Do you miss him?"

Misato nodded, "Probably about as much as you do Mari."

Mari wiped away a tear that had fallen down her cheek and laughed again, "I bet the Princess would enjoy this wouldn't she? Seeing me crying because of all this. Seeing me cry because she's gone."

Misato pulled Mari into a hug again and held her tightly. She knew just how rare it was for the girl to show emotion like this to anyone. Between herself, Asuka and mari they each had a special bond though, that even now was still in place, "I didn't want to do it Mari... I didn't want to send them away like that. I would rather they have stayed here but it was going to be too dangerous for them. It's my own fault, I should have seen what was happening but... I was too late."

"At least they're together... neither of them has to be alone."

"They have to be together Mari, alone they're both capable but together they can achieve amazing things. They can do what we need them to do."

"Yeaaah either that or now that they're alone they'll just spent the entirety of it screwing each others brains out. Which knowing Asuka like I do means we're pretty screwed."

Misato couldn't help but smirk at Mari's inappropriate comment, "I'm sure they'll be sensible."

"Maybe after a week or two."

"Maybe..." Misatos face fell again, "I messed everything up Mari... I lost sight of it all and only yesterday I realized what was happening."

"And what exactly is happening Misato? What prompted you to send them away like that? Is it to do with Kaji? NERV? SEELE?"

"Just... bad things Mari. Look I need you to do something important for me."

"And just what would that be?"

Misato spoke sternly, "I need you to do as Ritsuko asks you. I need you to pilot Evangelion Unit 08 when she wants you to. I need you to go and help them track down Asuka and Shinji if you are asked to. I know it'll be hard but trust me. Do as she says, do not attempt to rescue me or go against her."

"Why?" Mari asked but as she looked at Misato soon realized that Misato was not likely to be forthcoming with any information soon. Instead she shrugged, "Fine... but I need something from you first."

Misato nodded, "What do you need?"

Mari took a document out of her jacket and passed it to Misato, "Information. Found this when I was doing a bit of... research. Who is this person?"

Misato took the document from Mari and glanced over it. It was not much, an old report on the MAGI systems accompanied by a photograph. She did however recognize the subject of the document and passed it back to Mari.

"Naoki Akagi, Ritsuko's mother. I'm assuming you already know that though?"

Mari nodded, "Yeah I do."

"Why are you asking about her and how did you even come across this?"

"A few weeks ago I was doing some digging on Ritsuko. You know checking her connection with Ayanami and such. I am assuming of course that you knew about all that though?"

Misato frowned in response, "I had an inkling that she knew more than she was telling me but what does that have to do with her mother?"

"Her mother was there on the day mine died. Did a bit more digging and turns out she was present the same day Asuka's mother got into that accident and Shinji's mother got into her accident as well. Seemed a little bit strange."

Misato took the document from Mari once again and took a look at the woman before shaking her head, "I'm sorry Mari but there isn't anything I can tell you. All I know is that she was not very well liked, even by her own daughter. Meant to be a very unpleasant woman."

Mari laughed, "Wow, if even Ritsuko found her unpleasant then that must be saying something. Thing is Miso, I can't find anything else about her. It's like all of her data has been wiped clean save for a few stray files which tells me what she was and how she died."

"I'm sorry but I can't help you any further. I really don't know anything about the women, Ritsuko never spoke about her outside of a few times and even then it was just to mention how she was responsible for most of the MAGIs creation. The only people who could tell you more would be Ritsuko herself or... Ikari and Fuyutsuki."

Mari sighed unable to hide her disappointment, "Figures."

XXX

**Neo London**

Barclay put the phone back down onto the receive and noticed that his hand was trembling ever so slightly. He eventually glanced up to see the imposing man stood in front of his desk. The mans eyes hidden behind a cold looking visor and his mouth twisted into a devious smirk.

Barclay was afraid, worried that he might have made a terrible mistake. Regardless it was not one that could be reversed. He had selected this path himself, for the betterment of his people and an end to the ongoing conflicts.

Finally he spoke, "It's done. Our person on board has reported that Katsuragi has been locked up and as you heard I've recalled the Wunder to Neo-London. My people are preparing Evangelion Unit 08."

"Very good, and your committee are not aware of my presence I trust?"

"They are not, Commander Ikari."

"I am glad to hear it. So far Akagi and the others have acted exactly as I have expected them to. When they have taken Evangelion Unit 08 on board I would advise setting it on a patrol route of the continent."

"You do not think they should track down Evangelion Unit 02?"

Gendo Ikari shook his head, "I do not. It is important that Evangelion Unit 02 and its pilots are not captured until they have led us to the location of the tower. That however is for another time."

"I-Indeed..."

"In exchnage for your aid and co-operation I will now have Fuyutsuki transmit the data you requested regarding SEELE and their demise. This should please your people and place you in a position of power over them."

Barclay stood up in shock, "So... it's true then? SEELE really is gone?"

"Of course they are." Gendo boasted, "I was the one who pulled the trigger myself. I think you and the others will soon find out that we are all after the same thing."

"And... what exactly is that?" Barclay asked.

"Simple, a return of all that is right in this world."


	17. Domino

Shinji Ikari sat with his eyes staring upwards at the array of stars that had appeared across the night sky, his legs dangling as he sat on the edge of the open Entry Plug. It was now the end of both his and Asuka’s first full day spent on the run from the AAA Wunder. Both of them were happy that there had been no sign of the mighty vessel that was surely pursuing them.

The two of them had spent most of the day in a somewhat comfortable silent. Asuka had been putting most of her effort into manoeuvring the Evangelion across the desert landscape. Through ruins of old villages and towns, across sand dunes that had been transformed by the Third Impact and into systems of cliffs and caverns carved out into the Earth.

Shinji on the other hand had spent most of the day familiarising himself with Unit 02 and its additional systems. Some of the new defence systems were offline after the recent mission. A fact that annoyed Asuka greatly, she knowing too well how useful that shoulder mounted positron cannon could have been. A few systems were still there though, tactical displays to warn of incoming threats, a mapping system that Shinji had to learn how to read and numerous other numerical displays for each system within the Unit.

Despite being a capable pilot Shinji had never really taken too much notice of the systems that made up the Evangelion. Yet he had managed to learn what he needed to do fairly quickly here. His experience with Unit 13 also giving him a measure of experience in regards to Unit 02s dual entry system.

Towards the end of the day Shinji had discovered what the two of them thought was an outpost about another day’s journey from their current location. When Asuka had finally convinced herself that it was unlikely to be related to WILLE she had decided they would head to it. It was their hope that they might be able to get some supplies and figure out just where it was they were.

Shinji had of course raised the question of what to do about Evangelion Unit 02 upon their arrival and also how two people like Asuka and Shinji were going to negotiate something like that. Asuka had not provided any answers yet, insisting that all would be fine and that they would tackle that problem when it occurred.

Eventually the day had turned to night and Asuka found a place amongst the cliffs and caverns to set Evangelion Unit 02 down. Just like the previous night she put it into a lying position and ejected the Entry Plug halfway out of the neck. It was here that Shinji now sat and took time to think and reflect on all that had happened to him.

He glanced down at his hand and saw Misato’s necklace clutched in it. He felt pangs of sadness run through him as he thought about what might have happened to its previous owner. He wondered if he would ever see Misato again and if she was alright. He wanted to believe that she would be, that what had happened last night wouldn’t be the last time he’d see her.

He was aware of Asuka eying him curiously as she had been throughout the day whenever he had taken time to look at the necklace. He wondered what Asuka was thinking of, wondering if maybe she thought that he was stupid to be so transfixed on it. Maybe she thought that he should just throw the thing away.

A part of Shinji expected that that is what Asuka would have done, especially after what had happened between her and Misato. He on the other hand couldn’t find it within himself to be angry at Misato. He could understand why Asuka was angry at her, and also knew that what Misato had done was wrong but he was unable to be angry at her himself. He wondered if maybe that was a problem with him, that he was willing to forgive her even if she had done a bad thing to him.

_‘No… it isn’t a problem… I can forgive her because I know why she did it. It’s no different to what I did, we thought we were doing the right thing but in the end we weren’t. If she can forgive me then… I can forgive her too.’_

Shinji felt a slight smile come to his lips, really he was glad to know that after everything that had happened Misato didn’t really blame him for everything. He was glad to know that she loved him and that a part of the old Misato was still there.

“You make sure you look after that thing…”

Shinji came out of his thoughts and turned his head at hearing Asuka’s voice. She was glancing down at him from the rear seat of the cockpit, her lips turned upwards into a smile and her gazed fixed on him.

“Huh?” Shinji responded, wondering what Asuka was referring to.

“The necklace you idiot! Misato isn’t going to be too happy if we return without it or if it gets damaged. After all it was given to her by her father you know.”

Shinji looked back down at the object, “I-I didn’t know…”

“Of course you didn’t. Been in the Katsuragi family for a while apparently, passed down from family member to family member. Her dad to her, his dad to him and so on. So you know what that means right?”

Shinji shook his head, “N-No… I don’t.”

“God do I have to explain everything to you? Look what exactly do you know about Misato’s past?”

Shinji shrugged, “Not a lot really. I know that she was in Antarctica when Second Impact happened. She told me once that… she was the only survivor from it but no more than that. I guess… I know that she didn’t like her father, she said that when I first met her. She said it was something we both had in common, that neither of us got along with our fathers.”

Asuka nodded before giving him a sympathetic glance, “Yeah… Misato hated her father. Can’t really blame her though, he was pretty much like our fathers. Neglected her in favour of something else. In my case it was other women and other daughters of his. In your case your father was a… well is just a general asshole I suppose.”

Shinji couldn’t help but smirk and laugh at the comment, “Neglected me so he could build a giant robot and force me into it. Neglected me to go and create clones of my dead mother and also try to… destroy the world? Take over it? What is he trying to do?

Asuka laughed back at him, “I don’t know but whatever he is trying to do… we will stop him Shinji. Anyway in the case of Misato’s father he was dedicated to his research and was always absent. The usual ‘I promise I’ll be home by 5’ bullshit except he wasn’t an hour or two late he’d go on these expeditions and be gone for weeks.”

“That sounds… awful.” Shinji muttered.

“Doesn’t it? So eventually she had enough, they separated and Misato blamed him entirely. She said he was useless at working out his feelings and just became a mess of a man. When he wasn’t doing his research he just sat around sad at the state of his life. He tried to make amends though, took Misato to the Antarctic expedition.”

Shinji lowered his head, “And then… Second Impact happened…”

Asuka’s voice got quieter, “Yeah… and he ended up saving her life. He took her out to an evacuation pod and sealed her up inside. His last moments were to tell her that he loved her and also give her the necklace. He said that she would always be his daughter and that he was so proud of her.”

Shinji tightened his grip on the necklace, it being in his hand taking on a new meaning now, “And… now she gave it to me.”

“Yeah… Misato may had said that it contained the key to finding this Tower but I don’t think that’s the only reason she gave it to you. If that was all it was she could have hidden it in something else or given it to me. Misato gave that to you specifically because she thinks of you as her family. She has seen herself make the same mistakes her father did and your father did in how she treated you and… I guess this is her thing…”

“Misato… thinks of me as family…”

“Being honest she always used to annoy me with that sort of crap back in the day. Always saying how when you returned she’d try to adopt you or something but… it wasn’t crap, not really and you should know how she felt. Misato couldn’t have passed that necklace onto me, we were close but… I wasn’t her daughter like you were her son. I was a friend or a little sister.”

Shinji tried to fight back the tears forming in his eyes, “W-We… We’ll get this back to her… won’t we?”

Asuka nodded a confirmation, “Of course we will.”

“Good… Hey Asuka…”

“Yes?”

“Are you still mad at Misato… for what she did?”

“Furious.” Asuka said afte taking a bit of time to think about it. She rose from her seat and sat herself down next to him, “I’m probably angrier at her than I was at you for that whole aborted Fourth Impact thing.”

Shinji laughed, “You… were really angry at me then too. I deserved it though.”

“Yes you did, brat.”

“I shouldn’t have ran away from WILLE like I did. I should have listened to the others back then or even to Kaworu. I keep on trying to tell myself that his death wasn’t really my fault. That my father somehow manipulated those events into happening. He knew that to gain my trust at my lowest point Kaworu would take the collar from me. He knew what Kaworu was and what would happen when I pulled the spears. He… manipulated me. I keep on thinking I can forgive everyone for hurting me but… I can’t forgive him.”

Asuka quickly leaned in and silenced Shinji with a kiss before he could get more worked up. She pulled back and smiled at him, “It doesn’t matter anymore Shinji. It’s done and we have to push on. We have the means to find the tower now and we will do so before your father does.”

Shinji’s eyes lit up at her words, “W-We’re actually going to? But I thought you…”

“I’m angry at Misato for what she did Shinji and a part of me is saying to not bother just to spite her. I know I have to be smarter than that though. Finding that thing was important to her and our mission to stop NERV. She really believed that and Kaji believed it as well, I’m not going to go against that.”

“Can we… really find it though? I don’t even know what it is and… we’re not really in a position to find anything.”

Asuka took Shinji’s hand in hers and kissed him softly on the lips for a second time, “Of course we can find it you idiot. After all I’m Asuka Langley Shikinami and you’re the invincible yet stupid Shinji. There’s nothing we can’t do.”

XXX

Tama sat his tray down on the table and glanced down at the food within it looking somewhat dejected.

"You know something... I didn't necessarily agree with that kid being on the ship but he did do a good job in the canteen. I'll definitely miss his cooking at the very least, he had talent." Tama stabbed his fork into some of the dry meat on the tray and placed it into his mouth, "Certainly better than this."

Overhearing the complaints from the youngest member of the bridge crew Aoba looked up from his magazine and smiled, "Yeah Shinji certainly did have talent in the kitchen. He was something of a saviour to us back in Tokyo-3."

"You mean he helped out in the canteen there as well?"

"No, we weren't quite that lucky but back in those days we use to spent one night a week at another member of the teams place for dinner. Let's just say that up until Shinji showed up, we dreaded visiting Katsuragi's place."

Nagara chuckled now inserting herself into the conversation, "Was Katsuragi really that bad?"

Aoba gave a grim nod of confirmation, "Katsuragi's methods were to mix together various forms of instant food and then smother it in hot sauces. You couldn't even feed that sort of thing to an animal never mind a human."

Tama looked up after swallowing down another piece of dry food and taking a sip of his drink, "So Shinji took over?"

"Yup. Not only did he take over the cooking but also the cleaning and other household tasks. Shinji was like a gift."

"Yeah, until he freaked out and triggere-"

Aoba quickly cut Tama off mid-sentence and glared at him, "That's not fair. Neither of you were there on that day nor did you see what happened. I think any of you... if you were in his place would have done the same thing. Kid wasn't to know that'd happen..."

Nagara shrugged, "So we've heard but the fact remains that it did happen and until we're told otherwise I can't forgive him. I appreciate you and the others have a... unique perspective on it but we grew up in the world created by him."

"I know, and it isn't like all of us are in exact agreement about it either. You've seen what Maya is like now but... a part of me... just can't bring myself to hate him or blame him. It just doesn't seem right."

Nagara lowered her eyes at Aoba's words. It was unusual to hear him speaking in such a way. She had known him for only a brief amount of time, always seeing him reading music magazines or practicing guitar in the recreational areas. She had never heard him talk so seriously, "Whatever, this isn't about that. I want to hear more about Katsuragi, I can't imagine her being that.... irresponsible!"

Aoba laughed, "She had her moments back then but much like the rest of us she changed after the Near-Third Impact. Losing Shinji like that and the word she knew it definitely changed her more than most. She was the closest thing he had to a mother and I think she thought of him as her son... you guys I guess just didn't see her change but me... Maya and Hyuga we all saw it happen."

Well we definitely saw one change happen!" Tama interjected, "When we got Ikari back on board each and every one of us saw it and now it's led to this situation."

"That's true!" Nagara said, "I mean I don't get it. Why did she set all of that up? Why get them to leave and leave us without an Evangelion and a pilot?"

Aoba could only shrug, "I don't know guys, I mean back in the day Katsuragi did things that none of us could explain either. She set up the Eva's to catch an Angel falling from the sky and the rest of us thought that was pure insanity. It made no sense on paper but Katsuragi always said she trusted her gut instinct and the thing is... in most cases she was usually correct."

XXX

"So... it's really true what I've heard then." Sakura said quietly, her hand reaching out for one of the tiny plastics toys on her desk, "Shinji and Asuka are gone?"

"I'm afraid so kid, sorry to be the one to break it to you." Takao confirmed to her before taking a sip from the mug of coffee he had.

Sakura sighed and tightened her grip on the toy struggling to believe what she had just heard. She didn't want to believe that it was true. She wanted to believe that it was just some sort of dream or a silly and weird joke. Only she couldn't believe that because she knew it was no dream and that it was not a prank, her friends were no longer on board.

"And... what about Katsuragi?" She asked.

"Confined to the brig until further notice. Akagi is the one in charge at the moment."

It was easy for Sakura to detect the distaste in his voice for the events that had transpired, even more so at the news that Akagi was now in charge. She had known for a while that Takao didn't quite get on with Akagi. Many people didn't, she had always come across as seeming cold and uncaring whereas Misato, for all her faults, was kind and welcoming.

Sakura had never had much of a problem with Akagi. She had always thought Akagi to be a good person, after all Misato wouldn't have picked Akagi as a second in command and given her as much responsibilty. Akagi was also responsible for Sakura being placed as chief medic aboard the Wunder, so she owed a lot to the woman.

"Akagi... is in charge, that's good right?"

"Perhaps..." He responded, "We'll wait and see."

"I don't understand though... why did this happen? I thought... I thought things were going well. I know Asuka was hurt yesterday but it was a success right?"

Takao looked surprised at Sakura for a moment, "Shikinami was hurt yesterday?"

Sakura nodded, "Yeah but... I didn't think anything of it yesterday but I was there in the hanger bay waiting for the two of them to return. Give them both the usual check-up after piloting and... well Akagi was there. She said that she would handle things and not to worry, I asked for an update and was told that Asuka had been hurt but it was nothing to worry about."

"Akagi was there to see them come back?"

"She was but... I didn't think anything of it at the time. She outranks me and this was important. I just assumed she would rather I dealt with the troops in the TARKUS Units instead."

Sakura's eyes widened in shock, "You don't think she... did something did you? Oh god Takao... I could have... is that what this is about? Is that why Misato did what she..."

Takao stood up and quickly moved to put a comforting hand on Sakura's shoulder, "Hush Sakura, you didn't do anything wrong yesterday."

"I know but..."

"But nothing Sakura..." He spoke calmly, "Even if you had stayed and say Akagi did try to do something, which we don't know she did."

"But you're suspicious of her?"

Takao laughed, "I'm suspicious of everyone Sakura. That's why no one listens to me."

"That's not true! You're the one who taught me to always look for the good in people, you always said we need more positive people in this world because..."

"They'll be the ones to change it. I know and yes being serious I am suspicious of Akagi a bit but I think... whatever happened is above her. Katsuragi trusted her and that counts for something with me."

"If Katsuragi trusted her then why... and how did this happen?"

Takao moved back to his seat, "I don't know. I can guess but that isn't going to get me anywhere. All I know is that whatever Katsuragi did yesterday to get those two off this ship it led to her being locked up and now Akagi is in charge."

"And you think she is keeping something from us?"

"Of course I do. Something is going on here, stuff like this doesn't know happen. Ikari returning, NERV showing up like that and capturing him, we get him back and it all leads to this. It doesn't add up. Katsuragi wouldn't do something like she did without reason, if it was enough to get her locked up by her own supposed friend then... she had to think it was worth it."

Sakura stood up and made her way over to one of the beds in the medical bay, straightening the sheets she spoke, “I’ve not known Katsuragi for as long as you guys have but… Touji and Hikari always said she was a good person. They always told me about her when I was in the hospital, telling me of these insane plans to catch an Angel from orbit or using all the power in Japan.”

Sakura laughed, “As a child they were wonderful to hear. I used to think of Shinji, Asuka, Rei and the others as heroes, I still do. I always wanted to meet them, Touji promised me I could when I was better but by the time I was better Third Impact had happened and…”

Takao smiled, “You got to meet them eventually though.”

“Yeah I did. I met Katsuragi, Asuka, Mari and then Rei and Shinji and… they lived up to everything I ever dreamed they were. Knowing them all… knowing Shinji and seeing him that’s why I believe we can get through this and that things will work out but now I’m not so sure.”

“Things have been hard since Shinji returned Sakura, it was bound to be tough. Lot of conflicting emotions flying around the ship. The younger ones feel that they were robbed of a proper upbringing because of his actions…”

“But that isn’t true! It wasn’t his fault!” Sakura protested.

“I know that and I’m sure many others do but the crew are divided and have been since he got back. Half of them would have been happy to have him shot on sight. The things I heard… it wasn’t right but Katsuragi did the right thing giving him a chance.”

Sakura shook her head, “They’ll be alright won’t they? Things will work out for the best in the end. I want to believe that, I always have done but it’s getting harder. People always told me I was stupid and naïve to believe that things could get better for this world and that we could fix it. Always told me to wake up but… I wasn’t wrong was I?”

Takao rose from his seat and placed his hand on the girls shoulder to comfort her he shook his head, “Not at all. The world needs people like you Sakura, that’s why you do what you do and you’re not alone in what you believe. There are others out there who believe things can change for the better and are doing what they can. We can’t do a lot but whatever we can do will help, for now all we can really do is believe in them when others don’t. Katsuragi… she wouldn’t have sent them out like that without a good reason.”

Sakura smiled and looked back up at the man she had called her uncle for a good portion of her life, she hugged him, “Yeah… you’re right.”

XXX

Asuka snuggled herself into Shinji’s chest and pulled the blanket up over the two of them as they gazed up at the stars together. They had decided to leave the confines of the Entry Plug and settle a few metres away to have something to eat and relax for a moment. Whilst the temperature had dropped in their little part of the desert the two of them didn’t mind. The blanket and the heat from their bodies was providing all the warmth the two needed.

Under the blanket Asuka playfully began to walk her fingers down his chest towards his stomach. She slowly traced small circles on it and laughed as his body suddenly switched and he made a high pitched noise.

“Sorry, forgot you were ticklish!” She grinned back up at him.

Shinji glanced downwards and smiled and remarked, “The stars are really bright tonight.”

She nodded, “Yeah, I didn’t know you liked looking up at them so much.”

“Yeah… although…” Shinji’s smile quickly faded as the memory of the last time he had a chance to look up at the stars with someone came back to him.

“What is it?” Asuka asked, noticing the boy’s discomfort.

“It’s… it’s nothing.”

Asuka prodded him in the chest, “Ow!”

“You are aware…” She started, “That when you say ‘It’s nothing’ in such a way you’re basically saying ‘Oh hey, I want to talk about this thing but I need forcing’, so just get it over with and tell me!”

“Alright fine.” Shinji started to slowly run his hand through her hair, “The last time I did this was with… it was with Kaworu.”

“Kaworu? That was the boy you met at NERV right?” Asuka asked, reaching her hand down to intertwine her fingers with his. She had heard Shinji mention Kaworu a few times and knew of the tragic events surrounding his death but very little else. Shinji had, up until now, been quiet on the subject.

“Yeah… I only knew him for a few days but… he was really special to me. We spent a lot of time together and… he taught me how to play the piano!” Shinji chuckled.

“The piano eh? That explains that thing you do with your fingers.” Asuka teased drawing a laugh and a blush from Shinji.

“Kaworu was the one who told me about the Third Impact although… I don’t think he knew the truth. He seemed to think that I was entirely to blame which… well we know that isn’t true. He seemed to know a lot though, he said we could fix it. By pulling out those spears we could have changed it and… I believed him.”

Asuka remained silent as Shinji continued to explain, “When we got down to the spears it was when you and Mari attacked. Kaworu noticed something was wrong and he tried to stop me and… I should have listened to him! I should have listend to you but… I was an idiot! I… I…”

Asuka very quickly placed her finger up on Shinji’s lips and silenced him instantly. In one swift movement she pulled herself up and replaced that finger with her lips. Using her free hand she cupped Shinji’s cheeks and stroked them gently as the two of them kissed. She pulled away and smiled, looking deep into his eyes.

“Shinji, stop it. We’ve been through all this before.” She said trying to reassure him, “His death… was not your fault. If you want to think about Kaworu remember what you guys did whilst you were there, remember your friendship and now how it ended.”

“Y-You… You’re right.”

“Of course I’m right. That’s what I do, especially when it comes to you.” She flashed him another grin, “So what did he look like anyway. Always wondered what an Angel would look like in human form.”

Shinji’s cheeks grew redder, “He was… was attractive I guess.”

Asuka’s raised an eyebrow, “Oh really… was he as attractive as me?”

“No of course not!” Shinji said, “He didn’t look normal either I suppose. His hair was silver and he had similar eyes to Rei. There was a warmth about him, just being in his presence was calming. Oh and he always seemed to be smiling about something, he was kinda the opposite of me I suppose.”

Asuka was no longer looking down as Shinji and grinning but was now frowning. She looked to be deep in thought for a moment. Shinji reached up and stroked her cheek, “Asuka… is everything alright?”

She returned to her sense, “Hm.. N-No… well yeah… kinda… did he have pale skin too? Exactly the same as Wondergirls?”

“Y-Yeah he did!”

Asuka continued, “And did he wear one of the old school uniforms to. Orange T-Shirt underneath?”

Shinji nodded, “Yeah! How did you know that?”

Asuka bit her bottom lip, “I… I saw him! When I came out of my coma and I looked around to see everyone for the first time I saw him.”

Shinji contemplated her words for a moment shocked at the sudden revelation. Both of them seemed to be stunned into silence by the idea that Kaworu had been there all those years ago. Shinji more so.

"Are you sure?" He finally asked.

"Of course I'm sure! What do you think I am? Stupid! You don't forget someone like that."

"Did he speak to you?"

Asuka shook her head, "No it was when... when I couldn't speak to anyone. It took Mari to help me snap out of it but that wasn't until some time later. By that time I completely forgot to ask about him and I never saw him again."

"Kaworu was there... but why?"

"How should I know? Just that he was there. He was silent the entire time, didn't say anything but he kept on watching me. For some reason I felt... warm when he looked at me. It was nice."

Shinji felt his heart start to race, "I don't understand it, why was Kaworu there? He never said anything to me about that or knowing any of you guys. He was just at NERV when I was... I thought he..."

Asuka again recognizing Shinji's growing discomfort moved to silence him, "I don't know Shinji and we aren't going to get answers now. Maybe he just didn't get a chance to tell you or maybe there was no point. When we return we'll ask Misato then, okay?"

Asuka lay herself back down and snuggled into Shinji once more. She placed her head onto his chest and listened to his heartbeat, it was quick but over time slowly started to settle as the boy calmed down. He lay underneath her, running his hands through her hair, the two providing one another with warmth and comfort.

For a brief moment the two of them were able to forget all that had happened to them recently. They were able to forget about the state of the world as it was. Able to forget that they were on the run and their lives had been turned upside down once again. All they needed in this moment was one another.

XXX

Mari entered her quarters and immeidatley her eyes were drawn to Rei's form standing by the window. Her girlfriend was staring up at the night sky and gave no indication that she had noticed Mari's presence. Mari took this as an opportunity to just watch her and think.

She wondered just what Rei could be thinking about or feeling at a time like this. Despite how close the two of them had gotten recently both emotional and physically, Mari still found it quite difficult to figure Rei out. Despite Rei's growth as a person since leaving NERV she was still not very outwardly emotional. She was more prone to showing emotion than before, it was easier to see when she was happy or sad.

As cruel as it might seem Mari found it quite amusing when Rei would get annoyed when playing a game. Seeing the look of frustration on her face as she died on a section or struggled to complete one part always made her giggle, much to Rei's annoyance.

It was all of this that made those moments when Mari made Rei smile so memorable though. To Mari, Rei had the most beautiful smile in the world, and it gave her such a great feeling of pride to not only see it but also in most cases be the cause of it. Many times she had lost herself just staring into Rei's eyes when they lay in bed together.

At this moment in time it was not a smile that Mari saw on Rei's face but more of a frown. Mari wasn't sure if Rei was sad, angry or even contemplative as she gazed out of the window. There were many times when Rei would do such a thing. Many times that she would just sit or stand by the window and gaze at the stars above. Mari had of course asked why she did that and in typical Rei fashion she had been told, 'I don't know, but I think it pleasing to look up at the stars.'

"Something out there got your attention Blue?" Mari finally stepped into the room full and started to make her way across to Rei. Rei twitched a little bit in surprise at Mari's voice.

_'Wow, she really was lost in thought.'_

Mari came up behind Rei and wrapped her arms around her waist, snuggling her head into the girls back. She kissed her on the cheek before happily skipping over to the small kitchen and pulling a drink out of the fridge.

Rei felt her cheeks turn red and gave a small smile at Mari's actions before turning back to look out of the window, "Do you think they are both safe out there?"

Mari didn't let the smile on her face drop when hearing Rei's question, although in truth she had been asking herself the very same thing all day. Ever since she had spoken with Misato earlier in the morning she had been in a constant state or worry over the safety of both Asuka and Shinji.

This was not an easy world to live in especially not now with the threat of more Angels. Asuka and Shinji would not only have that to contend with but also the ever present threat of the Nemesis series, dangerous natural phenomena and any of WILLEs rival groups who might fancy a go at them. There was no support for the two of them either, they were cut off and alone, it would make anyone worry.

Mari told herself that she had to remain optimistic in front of Rei though, she wasn't allowed to show that she was worried and she had to keep Rei smiling. She grinned and nodded, "Who? The Princess and the Puppy? They'll be alright. After all she is with the..." Mari paused before putting her hands on her hips to imitate Asuka, "'Invincible Shinji!', nothing bad is going to happen to them."

Rei laughed and replied softly, "I... worry that that is just a nickname though. Shinji is no more invincible than you or I. He can be hurt, as can Asuka."

"True, but most nicknames have some basis in fact. I mean look at what had happened to Shinji ever since he became an Eva pilot. You remember his first battle right?"

Rei nodded again and Mari's heart fluttered as she saw Rei's smile, that exact smile, cross her lips, "Yes I do... the Commander was going to put me in Unit 01 in place of Shinji because Shinji had refused to pilot. Shinji... saved me from that fate but he was hurt badly in the fight."

Mari sat herself down, "Hurt but not killed! Shinji recovered and saved the city. He has luck on his side and besides which, he and Asuka and probably the best two Evangelion pilots out there. No disrespect intended to you of course."

"There have only been four pilots though..." Rei added.

"And those two are the best! Believe me they will be fine Rei, I'm convinced of that. I mean individually they're amazing and can fight so well. Imagine that they would be like together? I mean I watched footage of their battles before I came to NERV, it was amazing!"

Rei finally pulled herself away from the window and sat herself down on a seat oppose where Mari was. She thought about Mari's words wanting to share in the optimism of her girlfriend. Mari always had that effect on her, always made her feel better.

"You are right, I... will try to believe that they will be alright."

"That's all you can do Rei!"

"Can I just ask..." Rei started with a curious look on her face, "How were you able to obtain the footage of our battles before you came to NERV. I was under the impression that such things were classified."

Mari shrunk back and grinned, "Umm... Netflix?"

Rei laughed as Mari continued, "Yeah you're right I should have seen them but I was curious and the IPEA wanted to know what NERV was up to. I snuck in and checked them out to see what the Eva's were all about. I knew I'd be piloting one of them. Just a shame I got dropped in against that bloody Tenth Angel of all of them..."

Rei visably shuddered at the memory of the tenth Angel, "Yes... I do remember that one. It was... unpleasant."

Quickly sensing the unease from Rei at this moment Mari, made her way over to her and sat herself down in Rei's lap kissing the girl on the cheeks, "Well let's forget about it for now. The point is... I think Asuka and Shinji will be just fine and me and you will have nothing to worry about regarding them. Now us two on the other hand... well with Akagi now being in charge here and Evangelion Unit 08 on the way for me to pilot... things will change...."

Rei shuffled uncomfortably in her seat for a moment prompting Mari to stand up, "Is something wrong Rei?"

Rei nodded, "Not wrong but there is something else troubling me. It is about the arrival of Evangelion Unit 08... I have something I need to tell you."

XXX

_‘…police in the process of investigating the death of the WILLE Committee member have not yet said whether they suspect foul play but they have urged caution on the part of nearby residents and are appealing for information. We will have more on this story as it develops.’_

Ritsuko’s frown deepened as the report ended flicking back to two people in a newsroom. She shut the monitor off and turned her head towards Maya and Hyuga, both of whom seemed to be trouble by the news.

“They won’t release a name yet, do we have any idea who it might be yet Hyuga?”

Hyuga shook his head, “As of now we don’t. We know it isn’t Pirani or Barclay yet, both of them have reached out to us in their own way. They have stayed tight lipped on who it is though.”

“We can assume that foul play was involved though right?” Maya interjected.

Ritsuko nodded, “For now I think we can assume the worst yes.”

“I’m surprised the media even know about it!” Hyuga remarked.

Maya nodded her head in agreement, “Considering the committee will be dealing with what has happened to us perhaps they are not being as careful as they normally would in terms of press relations. Is this going to change our plans for obtaining Unit 08 at all Captain?”

Ritsuko shuffled in her seat awkwardly, it felt strange to hear anyone calling her Captain never mind it coming from Maya. She almost wished she could tell Maya to forego protocol but she knew her lover would never do such a thing. She took a moment to think about the question before responding, “I don’t think so. I haven’t had any communication from WILLE regarding the situation so as far as I’m concerned nothing has changed.”

“No doubt Barclay will have something to say about it though…” Hyuga said, the distaste evident in his voice.

“Of course, after what has happened regarding Katsuragi I imagine he will have quite a lot to say. None of it is relevant though, we will take on board Unit 08 regardless. Onto other matters, Hyuga, have you made any headway into figuring out how Katsuragi was able to do what she did and why?”

Hyuga shuffled in his seat and glanced down at the ground, “Unfortunately we haven’t yet. Katsuragi has refused to speak to anyone so far in any attempt to interrogate her and all traces of her actions within our systems have been wiped clean. Her being the former captain has… complicated matters somewhat.”

“Captain or not, she shouldn’t have been able to do all of that unaided. We have measures in place to ensure that something like that should never have happened!” Maya interrupted him.

“Maya is correct, Katsuragi must have had help from someone. I will speak to her and attempt to find out why. Hyuga you focus on working on how.”

“Yes Ma’am.”

“What about Evangelion Unit 02, will we be resuming the search for them?” Maya asked.

Ritsuko ran a hand through her short hair and sighed, “As of now our orders are to return to Neo-London to accept Evangelion Unit 08 and hold there for a period of time. I enquired about the search for Unit 02, stressing the importance of recovering it but I was told it was going to be discussed by the committee first. With the assassination of one of their number I feel this is going to complicate matters.”

“With all due respect, I think Unit 02 should be made our priority above all else!”

Ritsuko nodded in agreement, “I agree but given our circumstances I do not think arguing with the committee a prudent course of action at this point. I will however be stressing the importance of recovering Unit 02 and its pilots.”

XXX

“YOU’RE WHAT?” Mari yelled and jumped to her feet. She was glancing down at Rei in total disbelief, not sure if this was some sort of strange joke told to her by the girl or not.

Rei was slightly taken aback by Mari’s response to her statement, she shrank back in her seat a little bit, “I-I have agreed to pilot Evangelion Unit 08 alongside you. I thought… that this would make you happy.”

“Make me happy? Of course this doesn’t make me happy!” Mari exclaimed shaking her head as she spoke, “You… You can’t get back in an Eva Rei! I… You… You’ll get hurt! I can’t allow that!”

Mari put her foot down in determination and glared at Rei. She didn’t care that Rei looked upset by her words, she wasn’t about to allow Rei to do something like this. She couldn’t believe that this was what Rei wanted to speak to her about. Evangelion Unit 08 was to be Dual Entry just like Unit 02 was now and Rei wanted to pilot with Mari.

“I... am sorry that you feel this way.” Rei said softly, her eyes reflecting the sadness she must have been feeling right now. Mari felt a pang of guilt for upsetting her but she wasn’t going to allow this, she listened as Rei continued, “I have already made the choice, I wish to pilot alongside you.”

“NO! I won’t allow it!” Mari yelled again and Rei immediate shrunk back into her seat, “You can’t pilot Rei! You’re not supposed to pilot anymore! You’ll just get hurt. I’ll find someone else to pilot with, just anyone but you.”

Rei’s hands clenched and slowly unclenched as Mari’s words continued to echo throughout her. She felt a burning in her eyes as she saw the anger across Mari’s face. She had thought that Mari would have been pleased at hearing this. She thought that Mari would have been happy that the two of them could pilot together.

“I… I do not understand. I thought you would have been happy.”

“Well you were wrong! Of course I’m not going to be happy! You know what can happen in those things and I don’t want you to be hurt!”

Rei finally stood up, she didn’t raise her voice but the anger in her own voice was evident, “And I do not wish to see you hurt either! I am sorry but I will not go back on my decision for you! This is something that I wish to do. I want to be able to protect you just as you would protect me.”

Rei stepped forward and slowly brought her hand up to cup Mari’s cheek. Mari was shaking as Rei stroked it gently in the hope that she would calm down. She was shocked when Mari pushed her away and shook her head, “No… you don’t understand… no one does… just don’t… don’t come near me… I can’t deal with this right now!”

Rei had no time to speak out, nor did she know what to say as she watched Mari quickly turn around and rush out of the quarters. She considered going after her but could do nothing. Her feet were rooted to the spot as the door closed and Mari was gone.

“Mari…”

XXX

Misato squinted in the darkness as the door to her cell opened. She groggily sat up as the light came on instantly revealing an angry looking Mari Makinami. Without even giving her a chance to say something Mari came into the room.

"You knew didn't you?" She asked angrily, her voice hissing with venom.

Misato shook her head, "Knew what Mari? What's wrong?"

"Evangelion Unit 08, dual entry system! You knew that Akagi was going to ask Rei to pilot it didn't you?"

So that was what Mari was so angry about. Misato averted her eyes in shame. She couldn't quite bring herself to speak but she nodded slowly. Finally she whispered, "Yes... I expected it."

Misato got herself up off of the bed and made a move to hug Mari only for Mari to push her back, "Do not! I don't want to be touched by anyone right now. I don't want to be hugged, or held or anything. I just want to know why? Why her?"

Misato backed away from Mari. She had never seen Mari's temper flare like this before and for the first time ever Misato actually found herself afraid of the girl. She had seen Asuka angry plenty of times, she had seen Shinji angry plenty of times but she had never seen nor had she imagined that someone like Mari could get angry. It frightened her, she didn't know what Mari could be capable of.

"WHY MISATO? WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE REI?" Mari yelled this time, her hands clenched into fists and her eyes boring a hole through Misato.

"Because... It's the logical choice. That's why." Misato finally admitted.

"Logical choice? So that's what this comes down to? The logical option, what about the large pool of pilots we have training every day Misato? Why not use one of them? Why... why did it have to be her? I've already... I've lost people already Misato!"

Misato could see the tears streaming down Mari's face as she yelled but she dared to not get close to the girl again, "I lost the closest thing I ever had to a father in Kaji! My best friend has gone and you're trapped in here! All I have left is Rei and you... you all expect me to let her pilot with me. Put her at risk of being hurt or worse! I can't..."

"Mari... I know how hard this must be but please..."

"NO YOU DON'T! YOU HAVE NO IDEA MISATO. YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE ME! To always have a smile on your face and try to big up everyone else. To always be bouncy and happy in front of others. To pretend nothing is every wrong yet spend every second of your life terrified that the people you love are going to get hurt. To have to lie to everyone and say its alright because you're afraid of inconveniencing them."

Mari turned and hammered her fists on the wall of the cell, "None of you know. You think you know but you don't because you've seen glimpses. You've seen me cry once or twice but that's it, not again afterwards because I can't do that. I can't show I'm scared or upset. I can't be honest because if I am then..."

"Mari listen please..."

"Because if I'm honest then I lose people." Mari slowly sank to her knees, "When you're honest about things people turn their backs on you. You inconvenience people who have problems and they... they end up leaving."

"Mari that isn't true!" Misato finally took a few steps forward and softly rested a hand on the crying brunettes shoulder.

"Mari please listen. I do know what it's like to have to pretend that nothing is wrong and not admit to things. The evidence of that is me being in this cell, if I had admitted to my feelings long ago then none of this would have happened and you... you wouldn't be like this right now. I know its hard for you to deal with all of this."

Mari sniffed, "It's... this has been building for so long Misato. I don't know what to do but finding out Rei is going to be a pilot... that pushed me over the edge. I don't... I don't know what to do anymore."

Kneeling down besides Mari, Misato slowly pulled the girl away from the wall and cradled her in her arms. Mari lay sobbing gently holding onto Misato like a child would to its mother.

"I know this isn't going to be easy but please hear me out. You're right... it doesn't have to be Rei who pilots but she is the best choice for you. Now that Asuka is gone she is the only choice for you really. Synchronizing together with the Dual Entry system... it doesn't require a bond as such but its far smoother if there is one there. That's why you and Asuka were so good together, you two have a friendship that is deep and powerful and you're in sync with one another. It'll be the same for Shinji and Asuka and... you and Rei."

"But she can't... she'll get hurt..."

"Yes she will but Mari... so will you. Do you not think that maybe she worries about you too when you pilot? That maybe one of the reasons she wants to do this is so that the two of you can be together. I know Rei and she is... loyal and will do anything to protect people she cares for."

Mari nodded, "That's what scares me. I saw what she did for Shinji against the fifth Angel. I know what she is willing to do, she can't...."

Misato calmly placed a finger on Mari's lips to silence her, "And she won't. What you saw then was a Rei who thought she was replaceable who had little disregard for her own life and safety. She didn't think anyone cared for her and therefore could do that. Things are different now. She knows how important she is to you and probably won't be as quick to put herself in range of a giant laser blast. Besides... she isn't piloting on her own. You're going to be there in the cockpit with her."

"Y-You're right..." Mari sniffed again, "I shouted at her Misato... I actually yelled at her and I think I upset her. She didn’t yell at me but… somehow that was worse. I don't know what to do."

"The first arguments are always the worst." Misato laughed, "First time me and Kaji argued I... I felt dreadful. I thought I had just thrown away the best thing that had ever happened to me. We were in a maze... Kaji wanted to go left and I wanted to go right, I insisted that was the quickest way out bu-"

Mari cut Misato off and looked at her in disbelief, "Misato... I'm talking about my girlfriend getting into a sixty foot death machine with me. I hardly think your teenage tales of being in a bloody maze are relevant."

"Oh... yeah sorry. Point is that couples will disagree and argue. It happens and making up isn't always easy. Go to Rei, apologize to her and be honest. You can't bottle things up like this Mari... it isn't right."

Mari nodded slowly in agreement, "Y-Yeah... I know I shouldn't but... I just never feel like my problems are important ya know?"

"Your problems are very important to us. We're here for you Mari just like you have been for others. They aren't going to turn their backs on you, just like you didn't for us."

She started to slowly stand up and wipe away the tears in her eyes, "I-I'll go and talk to Rei. I'll make it up to her when we get back to Neo-London. Buy her a new cuddly toy and take her out to dinner. Least I can do for losing it like that."

"Good. I understand that you're scared but the two of you together can protect each other."

"Yeah." Mari smiled, "You know... maybe you should be the captain of this thing."

Misato shrugged, "Well you know... I'd love to be but something about committing a treasonous act and letting two of our biggest assets go free prevents that."

Misato watched Mari as she turned and started to leave the room, "Oh and Mari..."

"Huh?" Mari turned around.

"Making up after an argument..." Misato paused and winked slightly, "Almost makes the argument worth it."


	18. It's Never Twins

Mari’s hands were trembling as she approached the door to her quarters. She stood there for a few moments mulling over what had happened only a few hours ago. She contemplated turning around and taking another walk around the ship but she had already spent the last hour or so doing that. Now it was time for her to actually face up to what had happened.

She felt sick with nerves as the door slowly slid open and she peered into the room itself not knowing just what to expect. Mari wasn’t even certain that Rei would still be here, it could have been that the girl had gone elsewhere for the night.

The lights were still on in the room and Mari cautiously stepped inside, she was pleased to see that Rei was indeed still there. Mari stood at the opposite end of the room studying the girls sleeping form for a few moments before quietly making her way over.

She nervously knelt down besides Rei and cringed to see the red marks around Rei’s closed eyes. Despite how peaceful Rei might have looked now it was clear that she must have spent a good amount of time since Mari had left crying. Mari’s heart sank immediately at the thought of Rei sitting on the couch alone crying all because of what she had said.

She reached out and took hold of Rei’s hand, gently stroking it with her thumb. As she performed this gesture she whispered to her, “Hey Rei, I know you’re asleep right now but I have to get this out now. I’m so sorry about what happened earlier. I was being unfair to you and I’m so sorry that I yelled at you. I’ve had time to think about it all and if you really want to pilot in the Eva alongside me then… so be it. I’ll be proud to have you as my co-pilot and who know… we can be even better than Asuka and Shinji!”

Mari stifled a giggle as she ran her other hand through Rei’s blue hair, “You know it’s unfair just how beautiful you look when you sleep. It’s unfair just how beautiful you are, I can’t stand the fact that I upset you and made you cry. A face as pretty as yours shouldn’t ever have to cry. It should only have to smile.”

“Heh… but we have to cry don’t we? We can’t always wear a smile when we’re sad otherwise… well you saw what happened to me. God, I can’t stand that I upset you. I was just so scared of what you had told me when you said you were going to pilot Unit 08 with me. It isn’t just that though, this has been building for a long time. You see… I’m a big hypocrite Rei because whenever I’m scared of something or if something makes me sad I just store it somewhere in the back of my mind. Maybe I’ll cry about it at first but afterwards I put on the brave face once again. I’m just as bad as Asuka really…”

Mari paused for a moment and shook her head, “Actually I’m a lot worse than Asuka. At least she took the time to be angry and try to get some of her stuff out. It wasn’t the best way to handle it but it’s more than what I do. See I can’t do that because I don’t want people to see it or worry about me. See I can’t have people worrying about me. People… they all have their own problems and they don’t need to be burdened by little ol’ me. It’s stupid isn’t it? I’m the first one to listen and try to make others happy. I’m the first to tell people to talk about their problems and let them get it out but I won’t talk about my issues or let anyone worry about me.

Rei’s body twitched and the girl rolled over onto her side as Mari continued to speak, her voice hushed so as to not wake the girl up, “So you see anything negative just gets stored away and it builds up and up until… well until what happened earlier happens. It wasn’t just my fear of you piloting, it was everything Rei but… I’ll try to not let it happen again. I can’t stand the idea of hurting or upsetting you again. So if that means I burden you with what is on my mind… then so be it!”

Mari leaned in slowly and kissed Rei softly on the cheek before smiling and wiping away a tear. She stood up and glanced down at Rei, “I’ll go and get you a blanket. I don’t want you catching cold, you know where I am though.”

Mari stood back up and started to move towards her bedroom to fetch a blanket for Rei when she heard a faint mumbling from the girl, “Idiot!”

Mari turned around on the spot and witness Rei slowly opening her eyes and turning to look at Mari. Mari opened her mouth and could only offer up a simple, “Huh?”

Rei narrowed her eyes at Mari, “You’re an idiot. I believe that is what Asuka would have told me to call you for your actions.”

Mari’s mouth opened in shock and closed. This motion repeated for a few times giving her a goldfish-like look, finally she replied, “Y-You heard that? H-How much did you hear?”

Rei replied, her voice quiet but there was a sternness to it, “I woke up when you returned to the room. I was still… angry and a little bit upset with you so I pretended to be asleep. I did not think that you would have wanted to speak with me.”

Mari immediately made her way back across to Rei and knelt beside her once again. She took Rei’s hand in both of hers and bowed her head, “Rei… of course I wanted to speak to you and… I… I’m so sorry. For everything, I really shouldn’t have yelled at you like that.”

Rei smiled weakly and nodded, “I feel that I must also apologize. Upon reflection I do not think I told you of my decision in the most appropriate fashion. I did not consider how you might have felt regarding the matter.”

“Rei… it isn’t like you could have predicted how I felt. I didn’t exactly give an indication of any problem did I?” Mari offered in response.

“Perhaps but I have felt for a while that there has been something troubling you. I have felt it since we received the bad news about Mr Kaji. I… was just unsure of how to approach you regarding it. I felt that if it was troubling you so much you might have told me.”

Mari sighed, “You couldn’t have done anything Rei, I’d have… Well I would have just said nothing was wrong and convinced you of that. You would have believed it and we would still have ended up here. Believe me it’s not like others haven’t tried to ask me what was wrong when I’ve seemed down before. Asuka and Misato got close in the past but even then… they… they never…”

Mari sniffed and let a tear trickle down her cheek. Rei reached out with her free hand and wiped it away, “I would like it if you were more honest with me going forward Mari. You have done so much for me so far, you have helped me so much and been there for me when no one else was. I wish to do the same for you.”

Without uttering another word Mari nodded and pulled herself up onto the couch and kissed Rei softly on the lips. Much to her surprise Rei not only kissed Mari back but also grabbed hold of her firmly pulling her on top of Rei. She felt one of Rei’s hand on the back of her head keeping her locked into the kiss as their tongues met, at the same time Rei’s other hand slowly made its way down Mari’s body coming to a rest on Mari’s backside. Finally the kiss was broken, Mari looked down into Rei’s eyes registering the desire that was there, “Rei…”

“It is… unusual but despite what has happened I really desire you physically right now.” Rei said as her smile grew wider and her hands moved quickly to the hems of Mari’s shirt and tugged at it Mari taking the hint smiled back and lifted herself up a little bit allowing Rei to lift and remove the shirt. Seconds later they were kissing again, their tongues fully exploring one-another’s mouths and their hands eagerly exploring each other’s bodies.

Little giggles came from the two of them as their fingers lightly touched each other’s bare skin resulting in them tickling one another. Every now and then they would stop to remove another piece of clothing from the other until they were left in only their underwear.

They broke another kiss and Mari pulled away to allow Rei to unclasp and throw her bra onto the floor. As she leaned in again her eyes locked firmly onto Rei’s, “Rei… I love you.”

Rei took in the sight of the girl she loved and ran a hand up along Mari’s body up into her hair before smiling, “I love you too Mari.”

XXX

Shinji was barely able to keep his eyes open as Asuka marched Unit 02 through its ongoing journey. He looked around to see that they were moving through the ruins of an old abandoned town. Most of its buildings were still standing but they had long fallen into disrepair becoming only empty husks.

The streets were littered with abandoned vehicles. On the pavements below items from shops could be seen scattered around no doubt left behind by looters.

Much like the desert they had came in from the surface of the streets was a blood red colour. At the edges of the buildings it formed a strange sort of skin, attaching itself to whatever was in the way and claiming what was there as its own.

Asuka continued to move Unit 02 through the streets being careful to maneuouvere it around any of the fallen vehicles or other debris in the way. Every so often she would end up kicking them to the side or simply walk over them.

Shinji let out a yawn as Asuka rounded another corner. On hearing his she halted the unit and spun around in her seat glaring at him in annoyance, "That's about the fifteenth time you're yawned in just as many minutes Third Child! Stop it!"

"I know... Sorry..." Shinji started, "I didn't get a lot of sleep last night though."

Asuka's scowl soon changed to a grin upon recalling how pleasant the previous night had been for the bother of them, "I know, I was very much a part of it too remember."

A blush came to Shinji's cheeks as he nodded subtly, "Y-Yeah... thank you."

Asuka growned, "Shinji, please don't ever thank me for having sex with you. It really doesn't sound right. It isn't like I was doing you a favour or anything, I wanted to do it and you were as much a participant as I was."

"I know... sorry... I just..." Shinji started to yawn again as he spoke.

"God you're so annoying, you're lucky that I Iove you." Asuka groaned before turning back around in her seat and starting to move Unit 02 forward again. She nimbly hopped over a coach that had somehow been turned onto its side, "Why don't you go and get some sleep for a couple of hours. It isn't like anything is happening out here. I'm sure I can manage fine."

Shinji shook his head, "No... I'll be fine and besides I don't really want to leave you alone. Just in case something happens."

"Well then pack it in with the yawning already!"

"I'll try..." Shinji said immediately yawning afterwards. He clamped his hands over his mouth and mumbled an apology through then, "Sorry..."

"God damnit Shinji! I swear you're doing this on purpose." She stopped Unit 02 and spun around to face him again, "How about this, if you yawn one more time that thing I did last night with my tong-"

As Asuka was ranting as him Shinji's attention was caught my a red marker suddenly appearing on the radar screen in front of him. He tried to cut Asuka off, "Um... Asuka they're something approaching us I think."

"….fingers and furthermore I won't allow you to do that thing with your- wait what?" She came to her senses realizing what Shinji had said. She turned her head back around to see what was in front of her and looked around Unit 02, "Something approaching? Are you sure? I need more details Shinji, where and what is it?"

Shinji glanced at the radar screen again and noticed that a few more markers had joined the first one, "Umm... They're at our two, and they are... they're on the edge of the map so some distance away."

"They?" Asuka asked, her tone no longer playful as it was before.

Shinji nodded, "About five of them on screen. Are you able to see anything out there?"

Asuka shifted Unit 02 to the direction Shinji had pointed out and made an attempt to peer through the streets for any signs of movement. She was however unable to see anything through the vast maze of roads that made up the abandoned town. Spotting whatever was out there was going to be difficult with all the twists and turns in the town’s layout.

Asuka felt a sickly feeling come to her stomach as she looked around more rapidly. The memories of what had happened to her the last time she was in a similar situation flash through her mind. She gripped her controls tightly and tried to steady her breathing.

"S-Shinji, what's happening?" Asuka asked, her voice shaky and betraying her nerves.

Shinji shook his head and kept his eyes focused on the radar screen, "I don't know, none of them are moving they're just there."

"I need more information Shinji!" She refrained from yelling, trying to keep herself sounding as calm as possible. Her voice was low and quick as she spoke, "Nemesis Series? NERV? WILLE? Anything, does it tell you anything at all?"

"I know you need more but it isn't giving me anything. I'm just seeing red blips on here, nothing telling me of an A.T. Field or who it might be!" Shinji answered back.

"Need more... we need more... I need to get higher than this. Can see the streets better maybe see what it is." Asuka looked around for the tallest building close to their position. Her stomach continued to feel heavy as she approached it and reached up to start climbing.

_'Damnit why am I suddenly feeling like this, why am I remember that incident now of all times. Everything is going to be just fine, I have Shinji in here with me and nothing bad can happen. Nothing bad is going to happen to us, we're just going to climb... just going to climb up here and see what it is..."_

"A-Asuka are you alright?" She heard Shinji ask and slowly she came to her senses realizing that she had been keeping Unit 02 in this position for almost a minute.

"Fine!" She called back, "Just... getting a good grip on it that's all. You just keep an eye on the radar and tell me if anything changes!"

_'Crap! I froze up in front of Shinji... I actually froze up with him in here... I can't let that happen. I need to stay focused and I need to stay strong. I can't let him get hurt!'_

Asuka looked up and tightened Unit 02s grip on the building. Its hands sunk into the concrete and she watched as little bits of rubble spiralled down to the ground below. After taking another deep breath she started to climb.

XXX

“Ikari! What the hell is the meaning of this?” Barclay barged his way into the small office and stopped short of the desk to see Gendo Ikari stood at the window. He was looking down upon the vast city of Neo-London. Standing still on the other side of the desk was the elder yet somewhat imposing figure of Kozo Fuyutsuki.

“I assume that you are of course referring to the unfortunate and sudden death of the WILLE Ambassador Sofia Weber?” Gendo spoke with what seemed to be a self-satisfied tone, almost as if he was mocking Barclay.

Barclay frowned and raised his voice, “You know damn well that is what I am referring to!”

Gendo slowly turned away from the window, if he was in any way intimidated by the yelling of Barclay he certainly did not give any indication of it. Nor did he seem to be intimidated by the guards that stood on either side of Barclay. Gendo simply and calmly made his way to the seat behind his desk and sat down, a smirk evident on his lips. Barclay could feel the former NERV Directors eyes on him, even from behind that ominous looking visor.

“I understand you are angry right now Director but there are certain things that come to light. Fuyutsuki if you will…”

Barclay turned his head to look at the elderly man, “F-Fuyutsuki? So you two did have something to do with all of this?”

“Weber belonged to SEELE, she was one of the last remnants of the organization.” Fuyutsuki cut off the ambassador, much in the same way that he might have once cut off one of his students if they were giving him trouble.

“S-SEELE?” Barclay spluttered, “But I thought SEELE were all gone? You told me… You said they were gone Ikari! What is the meaning of this?”

“A correction Director, I said that the SEELE Committee had ceased to be but now the organization as a whole. Whilst we were able to eliminate the core committee of SEELE it merely renders the organization inoperative for a time. It does not however mean that others will not try to pick up where they left off.”

“B-But I don’t get it, Sofia was still young… she was inexperienced in the job! How the hell could she possibly be SEELE?”

“Sofia was actually the granddaughter of the man who led SEELE, Keel Lorenz. Her real name was Sofia Lorenz and for years she was using her position within your organization as a means to pass along information to SEELE. This information was then passed along to us.” Gendo admitted.

“Pass along to you!” Barclay exclaimed, “But I thought that you were… against SEELE!”

“We are against SEELE but in order to take down our enemies we had to work from within. You have already seen the proof of this now that the committee has been eliminated. What remains of SEELE now are merely stragglers. They are those with ties to the committee that may, or in this case, did have aims of starting anew. Sofia was one such person.”

“Whilst you might disagree with the actions that have been carried out the fact is that he is quite correct.” Fuyutsuki spoke before Barclay had the opportunity to respond, “Sofia was at that moment in time arranging a meeting to gather a new committee of those sympathetic to SEELE’s cause. She had her own plans to continue her Grandfathers work.”

“B-But this… killing her… you never said anything like this was going to happen!”

Barclays gaze shifted between the two men. Gendo remained completely unmoved in his seat, his expression had not changed one little bit. The more emotional of the two men, Fuyutsuki, did however look down the ground. Barclay rounded on his, questioning him, “Fuyutsuki… you actually condone this?”

“What Fuyutsuki does or does not condone is irrelevant. He was not made aware of my plans for Miss Lorenz until after the fact. I prefer to keep his hands as free of blood as is possible. The onus for this is completely on me, I know fine well that Fuyutsuki would disapprove of such an action.”

Barclay kept his eyes focused on Fuyutsuki, “Is that true?”

Fuyutsuki nodded, “Quite true, I would have preferred to have found an… alternative method to keeping Sofia quiet and preventing her from completing her plans.”

Gendo interjected, “Time however was running short. Sofia was already gathering people and preparing a proposal to have key members of the crew of the AAA Wunder replaced with her own choices. This was a proposal that the rest of your committee would have had no issue with approving. They would have likely been sent to the locate Evangelion Unit 02 immediately and bring them back.”

“Locate and bring back, but isn’t that what we want? You can’t seriously be suggesting that we actually want to have that monstrosity out there with those two rogue pilots within?” Barclay pleaded.

“That is precise what I am suggesting and what I want. It is of the utmost important that both my son and Pilot Shikinami be given the time to locate the Tower Of Babel. When they have located it then we will take action.”

Gendo looked up to see the worried look on Barclay’s face, “Do not be concerned Director, we know exactly what we are doing and we know exactly where they are as of now. Keeping track of them is not a problem for us. When the appropriate time comes we will make our move.”

XXX

Rei felt an immense warmth as she slowly opened her eyes, she let out a soft yawn and squinted as her eyes eventually adjusted to the light inside the room. The warmth and softness of the bedsheets up against her nude body provided her with what felt like a satisfied glow. She looked around the room and realized that she was alone.

She yawned again and stretched out wondering where Mari was and in fact just what time it was right now. She assumed it must have still been the morning as she had not heard the alarm go off yet. She thought briefly about what was to come today. Both she and Mari had to prepare for the arrival of Evangelion Unit 08. They would both be undergoing physical exams and synchronization tests before the main activation test.

Rei shifted in the bed and contemplated getting out of it. She looked around the room for her clothes remembering that they had all been discarded in the living room the previous night. In light of this she then contemplated rolling back over and going to sleep again. Everything was just so warm and comfortable and her body ached so satisfyingly.

She smiled enjoying all these new feelings and thoughts. In the past Rei would normally be awake as soon as her alarm sounded and she would be up and dressed promptly. She would never normally feel tired in the morning and she would certainly not consider going back to sleep. Rei knew that she was changing though.

It was the continuation of changes that had started so many years ago. Shinji and Asuka and the others had triggered it back in Tokyo-3 when she was within her old body. These changes had been halted by the Third Impact and the transition into this body but after encountering Shinji again, after encountering Asuka again and after meeting Mari they had resumed.

She continued to sit for a few more moments until eventually the door opened revealing Mari stood there, fully dressed in a pair of tracksuit pants and a t-shirt.

"Well hello there sleepyhead, finally awake are we?" Mari gave an almost catlike purr as she entered the room.

Rei blushed a little bit with embarrassment, "Y-Yes... what time is it?"

Mari glanced at her watch, "The local time is about 9:30 Blue, the Wunder has docked with Neo-London and I've just been out for a light run around the area."

"9:30!" Rei exclaimed, "I-I should have been awake two hours ago! I apologize! I must..."

Rei started to climb out of the bed prompting Mari to dash over and push the girl back onto the comfortable matress and giggle, "No no, don't worry about that Blue! You're not late for anything. The test got pushed back a couple of hours so it doesn't matter anyway."

"I see, but I slept through the alarm I-" Rei started to protest only to be booped playfully on the nose by Mari.

"Yes you did and see as you did and that is so unlike you I figured that I should probably leave you to get a few more hours of 'recovery time'." Mari winked, "After all, you're quite new to that sort of stuff so I thought you'd probably need it. Besides you're so beautiful when you sleep how could I ever wake you?"

"T-Thank you..>" Rei blushed once again and leaned in to kiss Mari softly on the cheek, "I appreciate it."

"It was nothing." Mari waved her off, "Of course don't think that whilst I was out I wasn't thinking about so. So if you would like to get up and dressed I have prepared for you a fine breakfast. Vegetarian of course for yourself and on offer is some of the finest tea in Neo-London."

"That sounds wonderful..." Rei nodded and smiled, "I fear that my clothes are in the front room though. Would you get them for me?"

Mari grinned, "Oh are they? That's a shame isn't it?"

"You will not get them?"

Mari continued to grin, "And pass up an opportunity to watch you..."

She paused for a few moments before kissing Rei on the lips, bouncing up off of the bed and skipping towards the door, "Of course I'll get them for you. Oh and Rei..."

Mari's expression turned more serious, "About last night... I am still sorry about arguing with you and yelling at you. I never ever want to upset you again. I was just... really scared and if I'm being honest I still am scared. I don't want you to have to put yourself through piloting an Eva again but... if that's what you want I'll support you every step of the way and her... we're going to kick some ass together right?"

Rei nodded, "I... forgive you Mari. I am also sorry for what happened and I understand your fears. I would rather that neither of us have to pilot again but if we do then I would rather us do it together than endure the pain of sitting by and doing nothing. I am... dissatisfied with being a spectator."

"Well you won't be a spectator anymore, I'm not going to let you get hurt though, that's a promise."

"And I promise that I will not let you get hurt either."

XXX

Asuka finally reached the top of the building and got Unit 02 into a position facing the area Shinji had indicated earlier. She scanned the horizon looking for a sign of this unknown entity that he had on his display. Her eyes darted from location to location, now scanning the streets looking for, and almost fearing, the appearance of the strange tentacle like ribbon blades that had plagued her so many times in the past.

She looked above the buildings for the sign of any disc like entities that belonged to the Nemesis Series that had attacked her and WILLE numerous times over the years. She strained her eyes off to the distance to try to observe any monstrous hulking shapes that indicated an Angel was approaching.

For now though she saw absolutely nothing and all this did was serve to increase the fear that she felt inside of her. Her hands were trembling as she frowned and turned towards Shinji. She spoke, making an attempt to make her voice sound as calm and stead as possible, “What is it saying now?”

“Nothing.” Shinji replied, “Nothing has moved but they’re still there. Can you see anything?”

She didn’t reply but instead turned around to take yet another look out across the city. She wondered if maybe they were going to get lucky and that whatever it was out there hadn’t noticed them yet. She wondered if maybe this was some strange coincidence. If it was then that gave them the upper hand in the situation.

“Okay here is the plan.” She finally said after giving herself time to think, “I’m going to start moving towards them. You are going to keep your eyes focused on that tracker. We’ll see if we can get in for a closer look.”

Shinji looked up worried, “But we won’t know what they are yet! They’re inside the city too wouldn’t it be dangerous for us to go through it?”

Asuka glanced down at her shaking hands and snatched at her controls holding them tightly. She took in a deep breath to try and steady her nerves. She took a few more as she tried her best to lock away the memories of past failures.

_‘No… I’m not going to freeze up this time! Nothing is going to go wrong and whatever is out there I am going to fight and I am going to beat. I am going to win! I am Asuka Langley Shikinami damnit, I was a goddamn captain of the European Air Force! I’m an Evangelion pilot! I’m special and I can’t be and won’t be beaten! I am not that weak little girl my dreams tell me I am. It’s time to do this!’_

She felt a smirk come to her lips and she let out a little laugh, “Go through the city? Oh we aren’t going through the city Shinji, we’re going to go over it! Time to play a little hopscotch.”

Shinji shot back, clearly confused, “Hopscotch? What do you mea-“

Shinji had no time to finish his question before he got the answer. Asuka stood Unit 02 up and brought it back a few steps. She focused on a nearby building of a similar height to the one they were stood on. He braced himself for the jump but thankfully for his nerves it never came.

Just at the moment that Asuka was preparing to jump a black helicopter suddenly rose up from the edge of the city and started to make its way towards Unit 02. Shinji glanced down to see one of the red blips on his display was moving.

“A helicopter?” Shinji exclaimed.

Asuka stopped Unit 02 and brought it back to a standing position. The enormous Unit towered above the city its head now focused on the helicopter. She had not considered that what Shinji had reported could have been human. The helicopter continued to move towards them before stopping and settling into a hovering position a hundred or so metres from them. It brought itself up to eye level of the Evangelion.

“What do we do now? Who are they?” Shinji asked.

“How the hell should I know” Asuka bit back sounding slightly more agitated than she had intended to. She tried to look for any familiar markings on the helicopter but could see nothing, “They don’t seem to be WILLE at least.”

As she finished speaking an alert went off on Shinji’s console. He glanced down to see that there was an attempt at an incoming communication, “They’re trying to talk to us? What do we do?”

Asuka shrugged, “We answer it of course, let’s see what they have to say. I mean it isn’t like they can do much against us.”

Shinji accepted the request. They were soon afterwards greeted with the sound of a man’s voice. He spoke with an Arabic accent and also seemed to be quite please,  _“Pilots Shikinami and Ikari I presume. It is a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance. We have been expecting you.”_

Asuka muted any outgoing channels and span around in her seat. Shinji gave her a blank look, “Expecting us?”

“I don’t know…” She shook her head, “Let’s just keep listening to him alright.”

“But what if he’s… after us or something?” Shinji asked nervously.

Asuka shrugged, “Then we destroy his helicopter! It’s practically a plaything compared to my Unit 02. They haven’t attacked us yet though so let me handle this.”

“D-Destory it? Asuka we can’t fight other people!” Shinji protested.

“Shinji we can fight whoever we have to fight to survive! I’m not exactly thrilled at that idea either but if we have to… if it came to it to protect us… to protect you then I…” Asuka trailed off thinking about just what it would mean. She thought about the implications of destroying that helicopter and anyone else who might get in their day. She’d actually be killing other people. She was an Eva pilot, she was supposed to fight Angels and now the Nemesis series, not kill other human beings.

She turned around to look at Shinji again and her frown deepened. She hated to even think of it but if that was what she had to do then she would do it. To protect herself and more important to protect the one she loved, she would take that step. Shinji’s eyes were full of fear and she just shook her head, “It… It won’t come to that. Trust me.”

Moments later the man’s voice came back through the system,  _“I understand that this must seem quite unusual. You were likely not expecting to see anyone out here at this time and therefore it is understandable that you do not trust us. First let me tell you that we wish you no harm at all, we represent Espérer and we are here because your Captain Katsuragi told us to expect you.”_

“Espérer?” Shinji asked.

Asuka nodded and gave a small smile, “They’re a smaller faction that were set up in the aftermath of the Third Impact. Misato always spoke of them as being good people. They… kinda refused to join up with WILLE when WILLE was formed so things were always a little bit tense. Same with any of the other groups out there really. They always maintained they didn’t care much to WILLEs outlook and preferred to govern themselves. Misato actually took me and Mari to one of their settlements a few years ago, like I said… they’re good people.”

“S-So Misato knew them? And they said they were expecting us?”

“Seems like it.” Asuka grinned, “I bet Misato knew we’d head in this direction or at least knew that there was an Espérer camp nearby. Unmute the channel.”

Shinji followed her request and listened as she spoke, “This is Pilot Shikinami. You said you were expecting us?”

_“Shikinami! It’s good to hear your voice, for a moment there I thought something had gone wrong. My name is Karim Lellouche and yes we received a message from your Captain Katsuragi only a few days ago informing us to be on the lookout for yourselves. She said that it was of the utmost importance that we find you and aid you.”_

There was a small pause before Karim continued speaking, “She also requested that we aid you in your search for the Tower. She mentioned you will have a key, I trust you still have it?”

Asuka turned to see Shinji wearing the necklace Misato had given him. She contemplated lying for a moment but the man having already mentioned Misato made her decide against it. At the end of the day even if something was tried, her and Shinji were inside and Eva and they weren’t.

“We have it.”

_“Very good! We should be able to help you translate what is there. Now if you would like to follow us we will bring you back to our village. We have food and fresh supplies for the two of you.”_

“Thank you.” She closed the channels and watched as the helicopter slowly rotated itself around. As she watched it she turned to Shinji, “Hide the necklace for now. Until I know we’re definitely safe we don’t give them anything.”

Shinji slid the necklace under his shirt and nodded. Asuka dropped Unit 02 off the top of the building, landing with a satisfying crunch on the street below.

“Can we trust them?” He asked.

“The guy said that Misato sent word of our arrival a couple of days ago, he also mentioned the tower and knew we had a key. Misato was the only one who knew about all of these things so I don’t think he’s lying. We should be careful though, just in case.” She warned.

Shinji looked back down at his display and raised a curious eyebrow, the markers to indicate the group from Espérer were still present but behind them a new marker had now appeared. He eyed it for a few moments before notifying Asuka of it, “Um… Asuka something else has appeared on the radar.”

Asuka gave a nonchalant shrug, “Eh, probably another Espérer vehicle to escort us. Nothing to worry about.”

Shinji shook his head, “No this is… this is much bigger!”

_“Pilots we are seeing something approaching from the south of the city. It’s… it’s huge…”_

Asuka immediately felt the rush of nerves from earlier pass through her. She slowly turned Evangelion Unit 02 around and gazed over the sea of buildings. Her heart sank as she saw the large figure looming on the horizon.

It easily matched the height of Evangelion Unit 02 and was slowly walking towards them. It walked on two thin dull orange legs. Its main body was a jet black colour and in a central position was the bright red core. Above the core sat a strange looking pale white mark which looked like a face. The top of its body curved around leading down to the lengthy arms that nearly touched the ground.

Asuka opened up the communication channel, “Karim… get your people away from her immediately. It’s… It’s an Angel.”

XXX

Mari flashed Rei a Cheshire Cat-like grin as she completed the process of putting on her Plugsuit. She tapped the button on the wrist and felt it compress around her body and watched as Rei performed the same action. Throughout the complex the sound of sirens wailing loudly pierced the air.

"Well there is nothing like being thrown in at the deep right, right Blue? So how is the new Plugsuit treating you? I gotta say, I much prefer seeing you back in the white one again, always thought the other one made you look a bit... villainous, just wasn't you!"

Rei blushed as she looked down at her Plugsuit, "T-Thank you, it is... fine but I feel we should make our way to Unit 08 immediately."

"Yeah, I hear ya on that one." Mari reached down and grabbed Rei's hand, "Before we go though... are you ready to do this?"

Rei gave a nod, "I am feeling nervous but I am ready. I will admit I did not expect us to be fighting an Angel so soon."

"Heh, well isn't that always the way? They have no consideration for our feelings! Well... I've got your back if you've got mine?"

"Of course. I will protect you Mari." Rei looked towards the door and started to move forward. She took one step before feeling Mari's hand on her shoulder. Rei was spun around and shoved up against a lock, moments later she felt Mari's passionate lips on hers. Rei melted into the kiss and threw her arms around Mari.

After a time Mari pulled away, "When we return... we do more."

"Y-Yes... I would like that." Rei uttered, her cheeks red.

Mari simply smirked, "Well then, let's go! Time is a-wasting and I still haven't picked out a song for this battle. I'm still not sure on what to pick, something old or new, what do you reckon Blue?"

Rei shrugged, "I... do not know. I have not thought about such a thing before, listening to music inside an Eva has never been an option especially during a battle. Is this something that you did when you piloted alongside Asuka?"

The two of them moved through the maze of corridors on their way to Unit 08s hander and continued to converse, "Well when I had Unit 08 all to myself I'd do it frequently but not when I piloted with Asuka. She wasn't really a fan of having the music on though, she likes the same stuff I do but just not when we were piloting."

"I see..." Rei thought about it as they continued to walk. She had never considered such a thing whilst piloting before. In fact until she had met Mari she had never really considered listening to music as a hobby at all.

In the past she would often see Shinji with his SDAT or Asuka with her portable gaming device and would contemplate the purpose of such things. She would wonder why the two would lose themselves in those worlds but she had never experienced those worlds herself. She did however quite enjoy reading books. Older fairy-tales in particular, she had been gifted books containing them by Fuyutsuki, it was probably one of the few things she had to thank him for.

She had moved past that now and whilst she still enjoyed reading she was also exploring these new worlds. She loved sitting with Mari on the couch, snuggling up with her and listening to music and she loved sitting and playing games in their quarters. She felt a smile come to her face, "I feel... that we should listen to something old. The music made by that band from where you grew up, I liked them."

Mari flashed her a grin, "Dire Straits? Perfect!"

Finally after a couple more minutes of walking they came to Unit 08s hanger. Within it was a flurry of activity, technicians were darting back and forth between various panels and consoles in order to prepare the behemoth that was Evangelion Unit 08. Mari was unable to drop the wide smile on her face at the sight of the bright pink Evangelion in front of them. She felt a chill run down her spine at the thought of sitting in that cockpit and being surrounded in the warm liquid LCL once more.

A few moments later the two had scaled the steps and were inside the cockpit. Mari positioned in the front seat with Rei sat behind her. Rei was not yet completely familiar with all the new systems in Unit 08 having only had a brief chance to study the documents Akagi had given her. She did not expect that she would be needing too many of them at this time though.

There was a faint blood like smell as the LCL slowly started to trickle into the plug. Soon the orange liquid was up to their knees and Mari let out a satisfied sigh and sank back into her seat. Rei on the other hand took a few nervous breaths as she felt the LCL come up to her neck before completely submerging her.

 _"Pilot's we have confirmed that the entity outside is indeed an Angel and not a decoy like last time."_ Mari stifled a giggle at Ritsuko's words, she had heard all about the decoy Angel that Misato had set up,  _"Your orders are to engage and destroy it as soon as possible. We have strict orders to keep it away from the city. Good luck."_

"Short and to the point, just as I like it. Well... let's do this, Evangelion Unit 08..." Mari paused for dramatic effect before shouting excitedly, "LAUNCH!"

There was a loud thud and the sounds of machinery turning as the two pilot's prepared themselves. The bridge keeping Unit 08 was quickly moved and the launch pad shot the Evangelion upwards through a darkened tunnel to a point on the outskirts of Neo-London.

They arrived on the surface suddenly and the light of day streamed in through the cockpit of the Eva. Mari flicked a switch and there was the faint sound of a keyboard being played accompanied by distant thunder. A few more notes played as Mari shifted Unit 08 around to face its target.

"Well... there is it. Funny looking fella isn't it?" She remarked.

The Angel itself was currently stood motionless facing the direction of Unit 08 and Neo-London. It stood on two thin legs and had a similarly thin body. Rei glanced at one of her displays and using the externally mounted camera on Unit 08 zoomed in to get a closer look.

At the center of the body was the exposed bright red core of the Angel and above that a peculiar looking pale white face. The top of the body form a long arc extending downwards towards its arms where a few weird looking fingers could be seen. Rei zoomed back out to see the Angel in its entirety and swapped the display to a series of statistics and figures relating to the Angel itself.

"How are you feeling Rei?"

Rei nodded, "I am fine, I am not feeling the same discomfort that accompanied the other Angel appearances."

As she spoke the lyrics of the song finally kicked in.

_'Long time ago came a man on a track._   
_Walking 30 miles with a pack on his back.'_

Mari looked up at the Angel and readied the progressive knife, she grinned and shot one more look at Rei. It was now time to show what she could do.

"ONWARDS" She yelled out excitedly and charged at the Angel.

XXX

Asuka first objective was to get out of the town and into the red desert beyond as soon as possible. She continued to push Unit 02 onwards towards the Angel as quickly as she could hoping that it would not enter the city itself. Fighting within a city and amongst buildings could always make things that little bit more complicated. She preferred the wider open spaces where she could really let loose.

With the Progressive Knife withdrawn she finally reached the perimeter of the town in which only a few small houses, bungalows and what looked to be convenience stores stood. She paid them no mind as she effortlessly strode through them just as the Angel itself reached the perimeter. She gave the curved orange Angel no opportunity to attack before screaming out and dashing forward.

She leaned Unit 02 forwards and held the knife out in front of her piercing the core of the Angel with minimal effort. With one swift motion she cut upwards leaving a vertical slice in the body of the beast. She took a step backwards and watched in satisfaction as the Angel slumped to the ground.

She turned around and gave Shinji a satisfied grin, "You see Shinji, clean and efficient, just the way a fight against an Angel should be."

Shinji was in complete awe at what he had just witnessed, his face showing how impressed he was, “Wow, you… that must be a new record for defeating an Angel! You didn’t even give it a chance to move.”

Asuka continued to smile, “Yeah well, you fight enough of these things and I guess you just learn what you need to do. You take out the core and then you…” Asuka trailed off as she saw Shinji’s expression change from an impressed smile to a look of horror, “S-Shinji… what’s wrong?”

Shinji pointed towards the front of the cockpit, “Asuka! Behind you… IT ISN’T DEAD!”

Asuka quickly spun back around and saw the Angel was now back on its feet. Its core and body had completely regenerated from the damage she had inflicted. Asuka’s mouth dropped open in shock, “Oh my god… you have got to be kidding me!”

She tried to dodge Unit 02 backwards only for the Angel to very quickly lift one of its limbs and send it towards the head of Unit 02. It grabbed hold of the head shrouding the cockpit, leaving both Asuka and Shinji in total darkness. Then with one swift movement it lifted its arm and tossed the Evangelion backwards. Unit 02 flew back landing smashing into one of the buildings of the town with a loud and mighty crash.

Dust and debris rained down on Unit 02 as the two of them slowly came to their senses and saw the Angel looming in front of them.

“Nngh…” Shinji rubbed his head as pain shot through his entire body courtesy of the hard landing, “I-I don’t get it, you beat the Angel! You got the core!”

Asuka shook her own head and tried to ignore the pain in her own body, she growled in anger, “Well… we’re just going to have to get the core again aren’t we? TIME. TO. DIE!”

She stood Unit 02 back up and reached for the knife once again. Similar to last time she dashed forward only this time the Angel was clearly anticipating her attack. Instead of allowing her to crash into it and plunge the knife into its core it dodged to the side and swung one of its arms around. The limb clattered with the torso of Unit 02 trying to send it to the ground.

The Evangelion stumbled and Asuka did all she could to keep it on its feet. She spun it around to face the Angel and narrowly dodged another attempted punch from the beast. The Angel swung its other arm around aiming it at Unit 02s head. Asuka raised both hands and grabbed the hand keeping it in place. She yelled back at Shinji, “What are your systems saying back there? Is that definitely the core? Maybe it’s some sort of decoy!”

Shinji was glancing at his screens reviewing the data available to him but feeling severely overwhelmed. All of this was far beyond him, he was just a pilot and not a tactician. He tried to ignore the shaking of the Eva and the pain in his body as Asuka continued to fight and dodge the Angel. Finally he just shook his head in frustration, “I’m sorry Asuka but… that is definitely the core as far as I can see. There doesn’t look to be anything else.”

“Well then we’ll just have to destroy it again!” Asuka snarled as she dodged yet another attack. This time she spotted an opening and delivered a swift kick to the body of the Angel. She followed this up by sending a punch forward and grabbing at one of the flailing arms of the beast. With another quick movement she flipped the Angel over onto the ground.

“TAKE THIS ARSCHLOCH!” She yelled as she plunged the knife deep into the core for a second time. She immediately lifted the knife up and stabbed at it again holding it in place until the core turned a dull red and finally blackened with the creature becoming motionless.

She eventually withdrew the knife and slowly backed away from the Angel keeping her eyes focused on it at all times. Eventually she gave a satisfied smile, “There… I got it on the second attempt. Must have been like that weird fortress Angel you fought against. Didn’t you have to hit that one twice?”

Shinji nodded, “Yeah… we thought we had it the first time but it instantly regenerated and I ended up having to fire again. It was scary, Ayanami nearly… well you probably saw what happened.”

“Well it didn’t, that’s all that matters. Let’s just watch this and see what happens.”

Asuka kept Unit 02 in place and her eyes focused on the lifeless body of the Angel. Five seconds passed, then ten seconds and eventually thirty. Asuka let out the breath she had been holding, “Okay… I think we’re done here we-“

She trailed off again mid-sentence as the sphere of the core suddenly lit up and became bright red again. She backed Unit 02 up slowly away from the Angel and watched in sheer horror as the Angel got back to its feet regenerating all damage. She stared at it in pure disbelief not quite believing what she was seeing.

Finally she spat out in frustration, “Oh… fuck off!”

XXX

Mari felt the excitement rush throughout her entire body as she jumped in and nimbly dodged out of the way of one of the huge arcing limbs of the huge gray Angel. She felt a rush that she had not felt for such a long time now. She was sat back in the cockpit of her Evangelion, surrounded by and breathing LCL and she had a large open space to fight the Angel in. It was incredible.

She also had something else there, sat behind her was Rei, the girl she loved. As she dodged another attack from the Angel she blinked as the thought of the blue haired girl sat behind her in the cockpit flashed through her mind. Immediately the smile on her face faded and she hesitated.

The brief moment of hesitation costing her as one of the large clawed hands from the Angel swung around. It smashed into the torso of Unit 08. Both Mari and Rei screamed out as the pain was mapped onto their midsections. The Angel immediately followed up with another blow pushing Unit 08 onto its back and sliding backwards several meters.

Mari looked around frantically, “REI! Are you alright?”

Rei rubbed her head and nodded, “I am fine. Are you alright?”

Mari shot her a sympathetic smile, “Y-Yeah, I guess I just spaced out for a moment I was… distracted by something. I won’t let it happen again though.”

Mari got Unit 08 back up onto its feet and then she heard the words she was hoping Rei wouldn’t ask, “Was it me?”

“Y-Yeah… it was.” Mari admitted, “I was… being reckless and I forgot that you were here in the back and could get hurt. I was so thrilled to be back in the Eva that I forgot about the real cost. I was throwing caution to the wind but I know I can’t do that can I? I have to- OW!”

Mari yelped in pain as Rei’s hand slapped her across the head, “Idiot!”

Mari turned around in her seat looking at Rei, an apologetic look on her face. She offered a cute smile, “Okay for one Blue, that actually hurt and two, you’ve been hanging around with Asuka far too much!”

“My interaction with the Second Child are of no consequence, I was merely making an observation and also an attempt to have you snap out of it. Our goal is to fight and kill the Angel. I do not wish to be a distraction for you and whilst I know you do not wish for me to be hurt I must ask that you fight as you would normally.”

Rei paused for a moment, “I do not wish to see a restrained Mari Makinami piloting this Evangelion for my sake or for anyone else’s… I want to see you fight like the Mari Makinami that I fell in love with!”

“B-But Rei the way I used to fight wa-“

“Was incredibly and I wish to see it again. Please Mari, show me everything you have.”

“You know Blue…” Mari purred, “It almost sounds like you get turned on by this sort of thing.”

“Whether I am aroused by your fighting skills is not relevant at this moment but if it would actually help you to fight then…” Rei added, “Yes… the thought of seeing you fight like that, seeing you put yourself on the line and doing all you can to protect me and the people of that city, seeing your true self within the Eva it does… turn me on. So please, do not hesitate any longer, I am not as fragile as you think.”

“Well… how can I say no to that? Let’s take it to this Angel then! No more hesitation!”

Mari grabbed hold of the progressive knife once again and the two girls shot each other a smile. Mari charged forward.

_‘I’ll fight for you Rei! I’ll show you just what I can do and I promise I won’t let you get hurt.’_

Mari brought Unit 08 into a forward slide to duck under one of the swipes from the Angels arms. She continued to slide forward bringing the knife up and plunging it deep into the core of the Angel. She sliced horizontally through the torso and watched as a jet of the blood of the Angel sprayed out colouring the ground below.

Mari smiled with satisfaction as the Angels body went limp and fell to the ground, “Well there we go Blue! Time to go home.”

Rei nodded, “I am no longer detecting any life signs from the Angel. I am reopening communications with Akagi.”

 _“Good work you two!”_ Akagi’s clearly impressed voice sounded over the speakers,  _“We are sending out a recovery team for the two of you. Rei how are you feeling?”_

Rei replied, “I am feeling fine, I have not felt any discomfort at all.”

_“Very good, it seems that the new treatment I have you on is working. The two of you can bring Unit 08 back now and we will start getting it loaded onto the Wunder. I’ll debrief you both when you return.”_

“Goooooot it.” Mari spoke in a singsong voice.

Mari turned Unit 08 around and started the walk back to Neo-London, in the background the song that they had selected was still playing, “You know we didn’t even manage to get to the end of the track! Maybe next time we should pick a song that isn’t nearly fifteen minutes long.”

Rei glanced down at the display smiling, the smile soon changed to a frown when she saw some strange readings appearing concerning the Angel. Realizing what was happening she looked up, “Mari something is-“

Rei was unable to finish her sentence as something suddenly connected with the back of Unit 08. Pain shot through her body as Unit 08 was thrust forwards and landed face first amongst a large group of trees. The two of them groaned in pain as Mari rolled Unit 08 onto its back. She let out a laugh at the sight before her, “Well, isn’t that something? The bastard got back up, I guess we’ll have time to hear the guitar solo after all!”

XXX

Asuka's breaths were ragged and sweat was pouring down from her forehead as she threw the Angel off of Unit 02 and sent it flying towards one of the town's buildings. This was the fifth time that the Angel had gotten up after having its core destroyed.

In that time it had started to move more aggressively and fatigue was starting to set in for Asuka. Her movements were slowing to the point that Unit 02 had been hit several times already. She reached a hand up to the forehead wiping away a cut that had opened there. She glanced down at her monitors, the sync ratio was high meaning that any damage the Eva took would be mapped onto her body. She had to be careful.

She quickly gave a glance behind her to see Shinji sat in the back. He had a fearful yet determined look on his face. She could also see the blood trickling down his face from a wound similar to her own.

Her heart sank,  _'Shinji is hurt... I... I can't...'_

Asuka turned around once again to face the Angel. It had not moved from its position after getting up and Asuka readied herself to charge forward once more. She clutched the controls and tried to ignore the doubt that was starting to creep into her mind. She tried to will the Eva forward but then the image of Shinji behind her flashed through her mind. Fear shot through her as she realized she was unable to move.

_'I can't... I can't beat it... every time I take out the core it just gets up again. Now I'm hurt and Shinji is hurt too... I'm not able to do this, I can't protect him... I was never able to protect him...'_

She hung her head down and felt the tears start to well up in her eyes. Images of her past failures started to flash through her mind. She tried to shake the voices screaming at her that this was just going to be another one of them. That she would be unable to beat the Angel and protect Shinji. It told her that it was just going to be like before, that she was incapable of doing anything on her own and that she could never save him.

"S-Shinji... I'm sorry..." She mumbled.

Shinji could see Asuka was struggling, he leaned forward and from his seat placed a comforting hand on her back, "Asuka... what's wrong?"

"I can't. I can't do it!" She spoke her voice barely above a whisper, "I can't protect you Shinji. Look at me, I'm not able to beat this damn thing. Every time... everytime I knock it down it just gets up again. It's like those damn blades and everything else I've fought. I can't help you... I've never been able to help you."

Shinji ran his hands down her body and pulled her back into as much of a huh that he could from this position. Even through their plugsuits and over the seat she could feel his warmth.

"Asuka that isn't true, you're more than capable, if anyone is going to be able to beat this thing then it's you!" He said, trying his best to bring her around.

"No it isn't! I can't... everytime I just fail. I can't even... I can barely even more anymore." She raised her hand to show Shinji how much it was shaking, "I-I'm scared Shinji, I'm always so goddamn scared."

"I'm scared too Asuka, it's alright to be scared."

"NO IT ISN'T!" She yelled startling Shinji, "Not for me it isn't! I trained all my life to be an Eva pilot. After Mama died I had nothing but Eva. This is my life and if I can't pilot it... I have nothing. If I'm not the best... then there is no point... If I can't protect you... then I may as well-"

Asuka was so focused on her ranting that she hadn't noticed Shinji had actually gotten out of his seat and had moved around to the front of the cockpit. He moved forward and cupped her cheek before planting his lips firmly on hers and cutting her off mid-sentence.

Their kiss lasted barely all of five seconds but on Shinji pulling away she found herself stunned into complete silence.

"Um I..." Shinji started, not quite sure of what to say next.

"Idiot!" Asuka playfully hit him on the back of the head, "If you're going to do something like that then at least plan what you're going to say."

"I just... Asuka it's fine to be scared and... you can do this. You're the only one who can."

Asuka looked at him, "Do you really believe that?"

Shinji shook his head, "I know that Asuka. It was your voice that saved me from Unit 01, I know it took a while but you did save me eventually Asuka. If it wasn't for you then I'd still be in there... you can do this."

Asuka shook her head, "No... we can do this. Here."

She nodded towards the controls and Shinji getting the message sat himself down on the edge of her seat placing his hands around hers on the controls.

Asuka took a deep breath and adjusted herself to see out of the cockpit around Shinji's body. His words were rattling through her mind and the warmth of his body against hers helped to steady her nerves. He was right she was able to help him eventually. Sure it had taken time and there were bumps along the way but that was just a part of life.

There was a conflicting voice in her head telling her that she could never be scared, that she was weak for relying on his words but his body next to hers and his voice comforting her was overpowering it.

Finally she moved Unit 02 forward a few steps and in response the Angel across from her also made several movements forward.

"Okay... we can do this. It's time for this bastard to die!"

XXX

"THIS. IS. BULLSHIT!" Mari yelled as she once again had to watch the Angel getting back to its feet and making movements towards them, "I've heard of cats having nine lives before but never anything else!"

Rei could offer up no reply but she too could feel Mari's frustration at the situation. She instead busied herself trying to analyze the data on her displays. She was trying to find anything that might give them any clue on how to end this fight, if they could indeed end the fight.

So far they had taken the Angel down four times and each time around thirty later it would get back up onto its feet and regenerate. Mari had even made an attempt at keeping the knife held in the Angels core for the entire minute but it was to no avail.

She continued to scan the data that had been collected since the start of the fight when they had confirmed it was indeed an Angel and over the times that they had silenced it. After a few seconds an in between more yelling by Mari she frowned as something appeared on screen, "That is most unusual."

Mari smiled, "Sounds like my little Rei has something! What ya got there Blue?"

Rei shook her head, "I don't know but I have noticed that whilst we have been fighting it the Blood Pattern of the Angel has been changing."

"Huh? You mean that whole blue and orange thing? Does that matter?"

"I'm not certain but whenever we have taken out the Angel it has been when it was Pattern Blue. However whilst we were engaged in combat there have been moments it has swapped to Orange for an amount of time."

Mari nodded, "Right, how long?"

"Around thirty seconds, the same length of time that the Angel stays down for when we destroy the core. It has only happened a small number of times though. It is only a theory but I think we should wait for it to cycle to orange and then try to destroy the core again."

Mari nodded, "Well... if you say so Blue. Sounds like we have a plan!"

XXX

Asuka managed to dodge out of the way of yet another swing from the Angel's arm. She twisted Unit 02s body around and cut quickly with the knife slicing upwards through the limb. There was a loud howl of pain from the Angel as its blood sprayed out onto Unit 02 and the ground.

She immediately followed this up with a horizontal swing across the beings torso. The knife cut through the flesh with ease staggering the beast. Asuka backed Unit 02 up a few steps and prepared another charge.

_'This is it... this has to be the end. I have to kill it now. I cannot... I will not be beaten by this thing. Not whilst I have Shinji here with me. This is why I'm an Eva pilot, this is why I was selected as a captain of the Air Force, this is why I was made a captain in WILLE. We are going to beat this!'_

She felt Shinji's hands around her own as she tightened her grip on the controls. Since he had come around to the front seat she had felt differently, their sync ratio had shot up and she felt a warmth and comfort like never before.

Asuka started to charge holding the knife forward towards the core of the Angel. Shinji had his eyes focused on the Angel, his mind empty of any thoughts except to will Asuka on. Both of them growled as the Angel swiped at them. The two of them in sync thought to have Unit 02 jump over the arm and in one swift movement the knife plunged itself into the core of the Angel.

"DIE. YOU. BASTARD!" Asuka yelled out as she held the knife in place plunging it as deep into the core of the Angel as she could. She kept Unit 02 positioned on top of the Angel as the core went black and the Angel fell to the ground.

XXX

Mari focused all her efforts on dodging a blow from one of the lengthy limbs of the Angel. Straight afterwards she dodged another swipe before aiming a kick at the large body of the Beast. She moved in quickly and continued to aim her punches at the monster ensuring she was always within close proximity of both it and the core.

She called back towards Rei, “How’s it looking back there?”

“It is still reporting Blood Pattern Blue for the moment, I have not yet seen any change.”

“Damnit, is there anything we can do to maybe encourage it to change?”

Rei shook her head, “I fear not, I will continue to analyze the data we have collected.”

Mari backed away from another incoming blow from the creature. She sent a punch of her own the Angel’s direction connecting with the strange pale white mask like face of the monster.

“HAH! How do you like that you regenerating Angel bastard!” Mari laughed as she yelled out and sent another punch its way, she followed that up with a kick to the beast’s torso.

Rei looked down, the change had happened, “MARI NOW!”

“Got it Blue! I am moving in for the kill!” Mari yelled back.

Mari withdrew her progressive knife once again and started to turn all her attention to hitting the core of the Angel. Suddenly as if sensing it was in danger the Angel sped up its attacks. It swung wildly narrowly catching Unit 08 on its shoulder and sending it stumbling backwards.

Mari quickly recovered and ensured her Evangelion remained on its feet. She dived towards the Angel once more knowing just how limited her time was.

With the Angel backing away from her it swung its limbs wildly trying to keep Unit 08 away at all costs. Mari ducked under one swing and jumped over another. She kept her senses focused as she did so trying to find that opening and make sure Unit 08 stayed on its feet.

“Ten seconds remaining Mari!”

“Got it Rei!” Mari called back. This time she threw all caution to the wind. She wildly dashed forward with her knife held outward. A clubbing blow from the Angel struck the Evangelion nearly sending her over but she managed to recover just before hitting the ground. Leaping back up she dived once more at the now exposed core.

“Five seconds!” Rei called out.

Mari growled as the knife pierced the core of the Angel. The beast stumbled backwards onto the ground. Blood from it spraying everywhere as it fell onto its back and writhed in agony. Mari kept the knife in place and watched as the bright red of the core faded to a dark red and finally black. The Angel ceased its writhing.

She counted down the remaining time in her head. As it finished and the core turned to black there was a bright flash that enveloped both the Angel and Unit 08. The Angel instantly melted into a pool of LCL around her and Mari let out a relieved sigh.

“W-We did it! We actually did it! Rei that was incredible you… you were right!”

Exhausted and breathing heavily Rei simply leaned back in her seat, with a satisfied smile on her lips she let out a sigh, “I… I was right. We actually did it.”

XXX

Asuka was still holding the knife deep into the core of the Angel. Shinji was still in position, his hands gripping hers tightly as the two of them focused all their effort onto making sure the Angel stayed dead. Her hands were shaking until finally a light enveloped both the Eva and the Angel. She felt Unit 02 sink forward as the Angel melted into a pool of LCL all around her.

Immediately afterwards she released her grip on the controls. Her armed wrapped themselves around Shinji’s waist. She pulled him back towards her and buried her head into his back.

“F-Finally…” She muttered, nuzzling into his back.

Shinji let himself melt into her arms, he wished he could have turned around to cuddle her but her grip around him was too tight for him to move. So he just allowed her to snuggle into him like this.

“Asuka! You did it! You beat it!” He exclaimed happily.

Asuka raised her head, “Yeah… I… I did didn’t I?” She gave a little laugh and planted a little kiss on Shinji’s back before snuggling into him again. She remained like this for a few moments realizing that she had finally done it, she had beaten the damn thing. A smirk crossed her lips as she enjoyed Shinji’s warmth, “No you’re wrong Shinji… we did it.”


	19. The Miracle & The Sleeper

Ritsuko, much to her chagrin was beginning to realize that her day was still not yet done nor was likely to be done any time soon. Despite her reputation as something of a workaholic, a trait she sometimes proudly embraced, today was even starting to get her down. She found herself longing to return to her quarters and fall asleep instantly in Maya’s arms as she was prone to doing.

It was supposed to have been a fairly routine operation. They would dock with Neo-London and take on board Evangelion Unit 08. When that had happened Mari and Rei would undergo a synchronization test followed by an activation test. Unfortunately for Ritsuko and the crew of the Wunder their plans had been severely altered.

Barclay had been there to meet them, demanding that the test be pushed back a couple of hours so that his team could perform some final checks and also give a list of demands to Ritsuko outlining the actions of the Wunder for the next few weeks. They were to patrol what was left of mainland Europe, hopping from city to city and outpost to outpost dropping off supplies and being little more than a glorified trade vehicle.

Ritsuko went with it though, knowing that stepping out of line could see her at risk of being replaced. As Misato’s right hand for so many years and being associated with NERV she knew that she was on very thin ice. She would toe the line as best she could, if only because she knew her being in charge was best for the crew.

It was not shortly after these initial conversations that the Angel had struck. They had barely even had a chance to load the data for Mari and Rei into the Evangelion’s data banks before it had struck. Ritsuko had had to order both Rei and Mari out into Unit 08 without performing any tests first. So much could have gone wrong yet they had managed to scrape by somehow.

Once this was complete she had been called to yet another meeting with Barclay. This one to confirm the status of Sofia, the dead WILLE committee member. Ritsuko had been told very little beyond it being confirmed that she had indeed been murdered and that it was being investigated internally. She was also told that she was to not say anything to any of her crew at all.

Finally she was here, in the comforting territory of her personal laboratory. She was here for two reasons, one was for a sudden meeting with Hyuga. The second was to continue her work on Rei’s medication. She glanced at the small vial in her hand and the orange liquid within it before setting it safely into a small plastic case.

Curled up in a small basket next to her desk was Spot the cat and standing near to her was Hyuga himself. She turned to face the man and crossed her legs as he spoke.

“Samples from the Angel?” He asked as he nodded his head towards the case.

Ritsuko shook her head, “Barclay is still keeping hold of anything we could possibly analyze from the Angel unfortunately. No, this is Rei’s medication. I’ve been working on a few alterations to it. My aim is to enable her to not have to take is as often, reduce any potential side effects and ensure she does not have another episode when an Angel attacks as she has done in the past. With her being a pilot not, it’s of utmost importance she is functional.”

Hyuga raised a curious eyebrow, “Medication? Is she sick?”

Ritsuko made every effort to not show any change in expression on her face. It had become so easy for her to forget that very few people knew the truth of what Rei Ayanami really was. There was even fewer who knew of her past with Ritsuko and she was going to keep it that way.

“In a sense yes, she is. It is something she had unfortunately had to deal with since birth but it is quite manageable. Rei’s immune system has not quite developed as well as it should have as she grew up so she requires the medication to manage that.”

“I didn’t know.” Replied Hyuga, “Although I did always think she looked very sickly.”

“When she was younger she was ill quite a lot. This was developed to help her, there were certain things it could not do. For example her red eyes and pale skin would remain as would her body’s inability to process meat. Despite that it does give her a better quality of life.” Ritsuko continued to explain.

“Of course her reaction to the Angel’s is something much more recent. I’m not completely sure what triggered this change within her and why she reacts as she does but I can prevent it from happening again.” Ritsuko half lied, the truth was she did know why Rei was reacting as she did when an Angel approached but it was not something she was willing to explain at this time.

“I see. You’ve done a lot for her, a lot more than most would have done.” Hyuga added his voice cheerful.

“I questioned myself when she arrived if I should have helped her. I knew there was a great risk to us all but I was ordered to help her by Katsuragi and that is exactly what I have done. It turned out by doing that we have acquired ourselves a new pilot and Rei has been beneficial to us and will continue to do so.”

Before Hyuga could say another word Ritsuko decided that it would be best to move the conversation on, “I presume that you are not here to discuss the pilot’s medical situation though?”

Hyuga seemed to stutter a bit before shaking his head, “N-No I’m not. I’m actually here because I had an opportunity to look into how Katsuragi was able to do what she did.”

Ritsuko immediately sat upright in her chair and focused her gaze on him, “You have made progress?”

“Yes I have. It seems that Katsuragi wasn’t acting alone as we first thought, in fact based on what I’ve found it looks like she might have been planning this for some time. I found… Well the people we was in touch with were…”

Hyuga trailed off nervously but Ritsuko quickly snapped him back to attention, “Out with it.”

“Okay, but this information it could be… very bad. I don’t quite want to believe it but I’ve double checked it and it all checks out.”

“I don’t care if it could be bad, finding out how Katsuragi was able to do this is our priority. She managed to endanger not only the lives of this crew with that stunt but she also sent two pilots out into the unknown. We were lucky Unit 08 was ready to be taken on otherwise we’d have lost our only method of stopping any future Angel attacks. We can deal with the repercussions of this later, what was it?”

Hyuga nodded, “You’re right. Going through the data I started to find little blocks that were completely garbled, they made no sense at all but then I remembered learning from Kaji about a technique a certain group used to transmit data. They’d encrypt it in such a way that it just looked like garbage data. The recipient would know what to look for because there would always be a pattern to it but most people would ignore it. Some of our systems are ancient and it’s a miracle they’re functioning so it would make sense to lose a few bits here and there.”

Ritsuko raised her eyebrows at the mention of Kaji, “So she was in contact with the same group that Kaji was recently. Who exactly is this group?”

“Espèrer. Kaji spent a lot of time at various Espèrer camps before he died. He was travelling to one in Northern Algeria before he died.”

Ritsuko took in a deep breath and tried to remain calm. She simply nodded, acknowledging what Hyuga had told her, “You’re absolutely certain that it is them. No mistake has been made here?”

“I’m certain…” Hyuga confirmed, “This is why I said it was bad. I haven’t been able to decode the transmissions yet but I was able to confirm that they were transmitted to and from known Espèrer sites. All signs point to them interfering with our systems.

“I see. In which case I want you to investigate this further with Maya. Show her everything you have collected and find out more. Dates, times, what was sent and where from. Have you told anyone else about this?”

Hyuga shook his head, “No, I haven’t.”

“Good, keep it that way. I will speak to Katsuragi personally about this incident and find out what the hell is going on if I can. For now we keep this to ourselves, tensions are already high between Espèrer and WILLE recently and something like this gives WILLE an excuse to go after them.”

“Tensions are high? I thought…” Hyuga started.

“It is nothing for us to concern ourselves with apparently but Barclay alluded to some recent negotiations going badly with Espèrer relating to land and equipment. I try to distance myself from politics but it seems serious, so for now we keep this quiet. Do you understand?”

Hyuga nodded, “Yes captain, I’ll start putting together what I know and inform Maya.”

Hyuga started to leave the room before Ritsuko called after him, “Hyuga, inform Maya tomorrow. It’s been a long day for us all and it would be better to face this after we have all rested. Oh and, good work.”

XXX

Shinji felt a small breeze blow around him as he stood on the balcony overlooking this small village. Shortly after defeating the Angel both he and Asuka had been escorted here by Karim and the people of Espèrer. They had been given a room in a small hotel, some fresh clothing and time to rest and clean up.

On the outskirts of the city stood the towering form of Evangelion Unit 02. It stood looking over the city like some sort of guardian. Surrounding it were a number of cranes and platforms to keep it in place. Further beyond Unit 02 Shinji could see the points in which the golden sands turned to the dull reds that plagued the Post Third Impact World.

On the way here the two of them had learned that this village was in fact one fo the first to be properly established under the Espèrer name. It was at one point going to serve as a base to repair and house Evangelion Units, hence the ability to have Unit 02 dock here. Many years ago those plans had been abandoned. Espèrer shifted its focus from the idea of housing or working on Evangelion Units to other projects.

One of these projects was research into terraforming technology. What Shinji could see around him was a result of this research. This village and the land around it had been restored to its state before the Third Impact. It was a remarkable sight and Shinji wondered if maybe one day this technology could be used across the planet.

He looked towards Unit 02 again, nestled in its dock. The dock itself was little more than a series of rickety platforms that Shinji had no desire to be around or use again. Although they had been told it was quite safe it certainly didn't feel like it. Of course it was only on Misato's communication to the group that work had actually been done on reinforcing them.

Beyond this not much else had been explained to them yet in regards to Misato's communications with the group. Nor had anything been mentioned about aiding them in their journey to the so-called Tower of Babel. For now Shinji didn't mind, the attack from the Angel had taken quite a toll on himself and Asuka both physically and mentally, explanations could wait for now.

Shinji reached into his slightly deflated plugsuit and took out Misato's necklace. He turned it over in his hands wondering just what the secret was that Misato had hidden within it. He raised the object up to his ear and shook it lightly, listening to anything that might be inside. On hearing nothing he used his thumbs to try to pry the thing open at its edges.

Asuka's voice stopped him before he could even make a start, "Looking at that damn thing again are we? I thought I told you to keep that thing tucked away for the moment."

Shinji lowered his head and put the necklace back on, hiding it down the front of his plugsuit again, "Sorry, I just thought that now we're here and alone I could maybe look at it again."

"Well I suppose I should probably ask, although I think I already know the answer, did you find anything?"

Shinji shook his head, "Nothing. Doesn't seem to be anything inside it that I could hear and I don't think it opens easily either. I don't really want to break it open but we might have to..."

"We'll figure something out." Asuka sighed before glancing across at Shinji again, "How come you haven't changed yet anyway? They gave us fresh clothes, thought you'd want to be out of that plugsuit as soon as possible."

"Oh I wanted to go in the shower first before changing my clo-" Shinji turned around as he spoke and went to step back inside the room. He paused mid sentence upon seeing Asuka stood still in the bathroom door. She was wearing some simple black leggings, a plain red t-shirt and was smiling. His gaze wandered up to her eyes, "A-Asuka you... you're not..."

Asuka glanced at him and watched as he trailed off unable to get his words out, "I was hoping that you would notice."

Shinji nodded and stepped forward again getting himself closer to her, he couldn't keep his eyes off of her face and was drawn towards the sight of her eye, no longer being covered by the black eyepatch he had grown so accustomed to seeing her in. His mouth went dry as he looked at her, he could see a faint horizontal scar across it, and could also see that her iris was a bright green providing a stark contrast to her other blue eye.

"Asuka you're... not wearing your eyepatch. I've never seen..." He finally said.

Asuka simply folded her arms and chuckled, "Yup..."

Shinji took a few steps closer to her to get a better look at her face. Up close he could make out the scarring in more detail. He tried to look away but Asuka reached up and with her right hand grabbed his chin to and moved his head back up, forcing him to look at her.

"Look at me Shinji, I have to know... how does it look?" She asked, her tone serious and voice quieter than before.

"You look... beautiful Asuka." Shinji finally said.

Asuka playfully pushed him away, "Idiot! I knew that you’d say that!"

“I mean it.” He stepped forward again and raised a hand to slowly caress her cheek, he stroked it softly with his thumb.

“It looks really pretty.” He finally added.

"And the scarring?" She asked.

"It's barely noticeable."

Finally she nodded, "I haven't looked yet, I couldn't look not until someone else... not until you told me it was alright."

She let out a laugh, "I don't know... I've never actually seen what I look like underneath the patch you know. When I got out of my coma the patch was there and I've just never looked."

"You mean you've never taken the patch off?" Shinji asked out of curiosity.

"No you idiot!" She chuckled, "I've taken it off! Of course I have. You don't think I've just worn that all the time for fourteen years? It's just... whenever I did take it off either to replace it or for a shower I've never been able to bring myself to look. I've always put on a replacement straight away. I've never actually... looked at it."

Asuka sighed and looked towards the mirror in the room. She took a step towards it but hesitated, Shinji seeing this gazed downwards once again only for him to feel his chin being grabbed and his eyes were forced to meet hers, “Whatever you’re thinking, stop it.”

“I can’t help it Asuka I…” Shinji tried to look down again but Asuka’s hand kept his head firmly in place. Her grip only tightened on him before he finally gave up trying to look away. “I just… I’m responsible for it aren’t I?”

Asuka sighed, “How many times do I have to tell you, it was not your fault. You couldn’t prevent it. Please just… not now. You can’t feel bad about it anymore, I need you to not feel bad about it if only for these few minutes.”

“I-I’ll try.” Shinji said as Asuka released her grip on him. She turned away and slowly moved towards the mirror and gazed at herself in it. Shinji kept his eyes focused on her throughout and watched as she leaned in closer taking a good look at her own reflection, at the eye she had not seen for fourteen years.

Her hands gripped the sides of the small table in front of the mirror tightly and he watched as she opened her eyes and glanced downwards for a moment before looking up at herself once more. Shinji could see her lip trembling as she sniffed. A moment later he was beside her with a comforting arm wrapped around her shoulder.

“I-I’m fine… I just…” She trailed off before wiping her eyes with her hand and focusing her gaze on her own reflection again, “It’s weird seeing it.”

“Can you… can you see out of it?”

She shook her head, “No, completely blind in it. I think it might have been mentioned years ago about getting a cybernetic replacement but… I was too afraid to look into it or ask about it. I was always so scared of looking at it and unleashing whatever was in there.”

“You mean the Angel?” Shinji asked, keeping his voice hushed.

Asuka gave a nod before reaching for a hairbrush and starting to brush her hair, “Yeah, the blindness and the glow is a little souvenir left behind by the Angel when it invaded me and Unit 03. They were never too certain of whether or not my body was free of any Angelic contamination and I suppose what happened recently never really cleared that up either.”

She paused, “I think I remembered some of what happened in the Eva the other day, when I lost control. I remember Mari saying that my eye was glowing from behind the patch.”

Shinji kept completely silent as Asuka continued to speak. He hadn’t heard her tell him anything about that incident yet.

“I blamed what happened on the Angel, me being contaminated but the thing is Shinji I remember what it was like all those years ago when I was attacked and what happened in Unit 02 the other day, and those other times. It felt different. It felt so so different. When the Angel attacked me… everything dropped away from me, it was cold and dark and I was alone.”

“And that didn’t happen the other day?”

She shook her head, “No, I lost control but… I felt like I was being loaned power by something. Something that wanted to protect me, it was there… inside the Eva.”

“I-Inside the Eva?” Shinji asked as the memory of what Fuyutsuki had shown him back in NERV flashed through his mind. Asuka might have been right in what she was saying, there might have been something inside the Eva. After all there was something inside of Unit 01.

“Yeah, stupid isn’t it but I felt something. It was like the thing was alive, I know they’re not actual robots but they’re little more than dolls for us to control really aren’t they? I mean sure they might go berserk every now and then and there is that beast mode but it’s all just a fault with the programming or whatever.”

Shinji nodded not quite sure how he should bring up the subject of his mother to her. Fuyutsuki had told him that she was the command centre of Unit 01, that her essence remained within the Evangelion and what had been left over was used to create Rei. He just didn’t know what that really meant. When he was in the Eva he had felt a presence, something there that wanted to protect him.

Was it possible that Unit 02 was similar to Unit 01? Then again Asuka had told him that she had seen her mother die, that after the accident there was a body. Shinji decided to hold off saying anything for now, thinking that maybe he could bring it up later.

“So I was thinking about it, since we beat that Angel and I realized that I shouldn’t be scared of the damn thing anymore. It’s gone and it went fourteen years ago. Whatever is there now is something else and I don’t need to hide or run away from it any longer.”

Shinji made his way over to her and kissed her softly on the top of the head. He said nothing else but smiled at her taking another look into her beautiful eyes before excusing himself to finally shower and change out of that plugsuit.

XXX

There was a frown on Misato's face as she sat at one end of the conference table and watched Ritsuko enter the room, flanked by two security officers. It had only been a couple of days since Ritsuko had taken over as captain of the Wunder but from the look on the womans face ti was clear to Misato that it was starting to have some effect on her.

Ritsuko was starting to look tired, there are dark marks around her eyes and she even looked a little bit paler than usual. Misato had never seen Ritsuko with such a look before and despite the situation Misato found herself in she found herself still having some sympathy for the woman.

Ritsuko approached one of the seats before instructing both of the guards to leave. They nodded and left the room quietly. Misato gazed around the room and spotted the small camera mounted in one corner, on the other side she saw the two way mirror that had been fitted into each of the Wunders interrogation rooms. She knew that despite Ritsuko's call for the guards to leave, there was a chance that people would still be watching.

Ritsuko reached into her jacket and pulled out a folder. She threw it down to the table where it landed just in front of Misato. Misato glanced up at Ritsuko, "And this is?"

Ritsuko offered up no response, instead she studied Misato's expression as the purple haired woman started to look through the documents that were contained within the folder. At first there was no change in expression but then a slight smile as Misato arrived at a page bearing the logo of Esperer and a series of handwritten notes.

Misato seemed to fixate on this page for quite sometime but eventually she flipped to the next. She continued to go through the rest of them before closing the folder and sliding it to the middle of the table.

She leaned back in her seat and folded her eyes, "I see someone has been quite busy. Although I must say they're fairly sloppy. A couple of mistakes in there."

Ritsuko still hadn't sat down, instead in a surprising show of emotion she suddenly slammed both of her hands down onto the table in anger, "This is not a joke Katsuragi!"

"Hmph, so surnames only is it? There I was thinking there was a chance we could still be friends too. Fine have it your way... Akagi." Misato made no attempt to hide any trace of venom in her voice as she spoke. The smirk on her face had now gone entirely, replaced only by a scowl, "I may as well admit it, yes I was in contact with Espèrer and yes they did help me get around the systems on this ship."

Ritsuko finally sat herself down, "How long have you been in contact with them?" She asked sternly.

"Long enough." Misato replied casually.

"How long Katsuragi?"

"Answer me this first." Misato now nodded towards the camera in the room and then towards the two-way mirror, "Who is listening in on this little conversation?"

Ritsuko didn't hesitate in replying, "No one, I'm here on my own."

Misato chuckled, "Just what I expected. Captain Akagi still has something of a conscience then not letting this little secret spill out."

"This isn't anything to joke about Katsuragi!" Ritsuko raised her voice, "Do you know just how serious this is? What this could do not only to you but to this world?"

"I am more than aware of what could happen to this world Akagi!" Misato spat back as she also rose to her feet, "I am more aware than anyone of what could and is happening to this world. You don't think I had a good reason to do what I did? Espèrer are the only ones willing to help! Something is rotten in WILLE Ritsuko, the committee, Barclay... they're not interested in truly saving this world anymore."

"You mean they're not interested in your personal quest for revenge anymore?" Ritsuko also rose to her feet to match Misato, "I know you Katsuragi! I saw what WILLE were going to do!"

"So then you know why I did what I did! Call off the search for the tower! Call off the search for NERV and have us patrol Europe? We were made to stop NERV, we were going to destroy them and make sure what happened 14 years ago would never happen again. That was our goal."

"No Katsuragi your goal was to get revenge!" Ritsuko yelled back, "Revenge for your father during the Second Impact and get revenge for what happened 14 years ago! You're a fool! You've not only endangered the lives of this crew by letting go of a valuable asset in Unit 02 but you have also endangered more lives by bringing Espèrer into your little whale hunt! Not to mention risking the lives of Asuka and Shinji!"

"I did what I had to do! This isn't about revenge this is about doing what is right! Kaji knew it, he knew what was happening! He knew how rotten WILLE was about to become and that’s why he was killed!"

"Kaji was killed by a crime of opportunity! They investigated it, someone got to him when he was sleeping and took whatever he had on him at the time. The only reason they didn't find anything in the initial investigation was because the perpetrator bribed security to erase all traces. Kaji's stuff turned up in some black market in another outpost later!"

Misato shook her head, "You're lying!"

"No I'm not Misato! I am trying to help you, trying to stop you before you get yourself and others hurt in this silly little quest." Ritsuko paused, "I should have stopped you weeks ago, when Shinji returned I should have saw this coming but I-"

Misato cut her off, "No you're wrong, it should have been me who saw this coming. I should have saw you for what you really were. I should have known that you would turn against me. Don't think I don't know about what you were back at NERV Ritsuko, about your relationship with... him and Rei Ayanami. Don't think I don't know about the lies you fed me about Asuka's contamination, she was no more contaminated than you or I."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Ritsuko picked up the folder and started to leave.

"How do you think Asuka will react when she finds out the truth? About what really caused her to react like that, about what is inside her Eva? What are you going to do then Ritsuko? Run back to your precious little Maya? How do you think she'll react when she finds out abou-"

Misato felt a stinging pain across her face as the slap from Ritsuko connected with her cheek. The sound echoed around the room and Misato slowly brought her hand to her cheek rubbing it softly, she looked away refusing to meet Ritsuko's eyes, "Hah, so... there is some fight in you. You're going to need it for what's coming Ritsuko, trust me."

XXX

Shinji felt a wave of dizziness wash over him as he opened his eyes to find himself stood before a large glass window. The other day was dark but through it he could make out what seemed to be a cylindrical object within the centre of the room.

He pulled himself away from the room and slowly turned around. His mouth went dry instantly at the scene before him. There were a number of people in the room but one in particular made his heart race and his stomach drop. It was a man sat behind a desk, not just any man but the one that he called his father.

Shinji noticed that Gendo Ikari looked to be considerably younger than he had ever remembered him to be. He was not wearing the visor that Shinji had seen him in the last time the two of them had met, in fact Gendo was wearing no glasses at all. He also did not have the beard that Shinji had always known him to have, instead he was clean shaven. As much as Shinji might hate the idea of it he could actually see a bit of himself in his father’s face.

Stood to the left of Gendo Ikari was the figure of Kozo Fuyutsuki. He too also looked to be younger although not considerably different to how he looked back when Shinji first knew him at NERV. He certainly was not the tired and aged figure that Shinji knew when he had met him again at the new NERV facility.

There was a third figure of importance in this room too. She was sat at a desk on the other side of the room and had an array of screens around her. Shinji did not know this woman but he felt that there was definitely something familiar about her. She had maroon coloured hair and wore a stern expression that reminded him of someone.

Shinji took a few cautious steps forward towards the centre of the room. No one out of the three looked in his direction, it seemed as if no one had noticed that he was there at all. He turned towards his father who seemed to have his attention fixed on a screen.

“F-Father?” He uttered aloud, as clearly as he could. When he spoke no one in the room turned their heads to look at him nor did they acknowledge that a sound had been made. He looked between the three occupants, all of them focused on their work. He was about to say something again when he was distracted by the sounds of a child giggling from behind him. He heard a dull thud against the glass and turned around to see what it was.

Shinji felt that sickly feeling return to his stomach at the sight of this fourth occupant of the room. It was a young child, probably no more than four years old. Shinji knew instantly from the boy’s messy brown hair, striped t-shirt and wide smile who it was, “Is that… is that me?”

Again no response or acknowledgement from anyone in the room. The child-Shinji hit his hand off of the window again and giggled. This time Shinji heard a sigh from the female occupant of the room. This was swiftly followed by Fuyutsuki speaking up, “Ikari this is not a daycare! We are about to conduct a dangerous experiment, was it really wise to bring your child with you?”

As soon as Fuyutsuki spoke those words Shinji felt another strange feeling wash over him. Afterwards he could hear what his father was about to say, even before his father opened his mouth,  _‘My apologies Fuyutsuki but Yui wanted Shinji to be here today to witness this. She wanted to show him the bright future that lay ahead.’_

Sure enough barely seconds later and with a smile on his face Gendo Ikari opened his mouth to speak, “My apologies Fuyutsuki but Yui wanted Shinji to be here today to witness this. She wanted to show him the bright future that lay ahead.”

Shinji shook his head and took a step back in shock. There was a fuzziness in his brain as he tried to recall more of what has happening. Everything about this scene was so familiar to him and he was slowly starting to realize why. He had been here before, he had seen all of this before but he couldn’t remember exactly what was about to happen and why he was here again now.

As he tried to think he jumped, startled by a loud noise suddenly sounding behind him. He span around on the spot to face the large glass window once more. The room beyond was now no longer dark, instead it was lit by a number of spotlights that shone onto a lone object in the centre of the room.

Shinji’s heart started to pound faster in his chest as his eyes were drawn to the chambers new occupant. He recognized part of it immediately, it was a cockpit for an Evangelion. Only this was significantly older looking. There appeared to be no additional displays or controls, only the two handles that the pilot would grab onto to control the machine.

Shinji didn’t want to but he couldn’t help but move his eyes towards the seat of the cockpit. His worst fears were confirmed at that moment when he saw the occupant. She was clad in a white plugsuit not dissimilar to the one that Rei Ayanami wore at one point. Just like Shinji she had brown hair, and immediately Shinji could see the resemblance to Rei.

The child Shinji also stood at the window confirmed the identity of the woman for Shinji. He looked at the woman and then back to Gendo before pointing at the window, “Mama! It’s Mama! Hellooooooo!”

The child-Shinji waved enthusiastically at Yui Ikari, all Shinji could do was take a step backwards in horror at the scene unfolding before him. The fuzzy memories of this day starting to become clearer in his head. Shinji turned his head around to see his father was smiling at the sight, “Are we ready to go then Yui?”

Yui crossed both of her arms over her chest and brought her hands to rest on her shoulders. She gave a smile towards the child-Shinji and nodded, “I’m ready my love. Is Shinji there?”

“Yes he is.” Replied Gendo.

“Can I speak to him?”

“Of course.” Gendo said as he stepped out from behind the desk. He made his way over to the child-Shinji and scooped the kid up into his arms, “Say hello to your mother son.”

“Hiya Mama! Watchya doing in there?”

Shinji found himself frozen to the spot. His entire body was trembling as his eyes kept darting between his father and his mother. He could hear their conversations in his own head before any of them spoke, it was as clear to him as the music used to be through his old headphones.

_‘The experiment… they were doing an experiment and she… she…’_

“Well Shinji, I’m here because we’re doing an important experiment today and I wanted to make sure you were here to see it. You’ve got a bright future ahead of you Shinji…”

As Yui Ikari spoke Shinji couldn’t keep his eyes off of her, he watched as her head turned slowly from where Gendo and the child-Shinji were and her eyes seemed to fix on something else. It took Shinji a moment to realize but his body only responded by trembling more when he realized it was him.

“Mother… c-can you… see me? Can… you hear me?” Shinji asked.

Yui gave no indication to him that she could hear or see him but her eyes did seem to scan him up and down for a moment. Maybe it was just Shinji’s imagination but he felt like she was talking directly to him and no one else in the room.

“What we are doing today Shinji… is securing that bright future for you. I wanted you to always be able to remember this moment. I want you to also always remember that above all else Shinji… I love you.”

Shinji sniffed loudly and although he wasn’t sure as to whether or not she could hear him he still opened his mouth to speak. It felt like a pre-programmed response, something he had to say to her just in case she could somehow hear him.”

“I love you too mother…”

All the other sound and movement in the room seemed to fade from his mind. All Shinji could do not was keep his eyes focused on his mother, she seemed to look back at him with a smile on her face as if he was all that she could see. Finally she closed her eyes and the device was lowered into the cylindrical object below.

“No… No NO NO NO NO NO!” Shinji started to yell, “I can’t… I can’t watch this…”

Shinji still couldn’t look away. He took a step forward as the cockpit was lowered into the cylinder and a heavy lid came down over it. Beams of light shot up around the perimeter of the cylinder as he continued to shout, “You can’t do this! You have to stop this! Please! It isn’t going to work!”

Finally he was able to spin around and he saw the others just watching from their positions. They were speaking to one another but Shinji could no longer make out any of the words being said. His father was sat at his desk, with the child-Shinji watching in awe, sat on Gendo’s knee. Fuyutsuki was still where he had always been, watching the light from the cylinder shine brightly in the next room.

The maroon haired scientist was frowning as her eyes darted between the various screens on her desk. Shinji knew it was futile to do so but he continued to call out to them, “You have to stop this! It’s going to do wrong!”

As he had expected no one acknowledged him. He turned around again to face the glass. He brought his fist up against the glass and hammered his hand off of it. Pain shot through his hand down to his elbow but he continued to hit the glass, “MOTHER! PLEASE… YOU CAN’T… DON’T… DON’T LEAVE ME!”

He readied himself for the next part, he knew what came next and all he could do was sink down to his knees. His father was the first one to yell as the light from the room engulfed them all. Suddenly the entire building began to shake and rumble and the sound of sirens was heard.

Everyone in the room seemed to leap up and there was a flurry of activity. He could hear his father shouting instructions frantically trying to save his mother. He could hear the scientist barking instructions to her staff and he could hear the sounds of the child-Shinji crying as his world slowly fell apart.

Shinji couldn’t bring himself to turn around and see any of them. All he could do was stay on his knees and gaze at the floor and sob, tears spilling down his face onto the ground below. He knew what this moment was, it was one he had lived so many years ago and forgotten. It was the day his mother left him.

“M-Mother… please… please… come back.”

XXX

"Idiot Shinji! Wake up!" Asuka frantically shook Shinji's shoulder, desperate for the boy to wake up. Finally his eyes flickered open and she moved herself away from her position over him, wary of any sudden reaction from him.

Shinji lay motionless for a few moments, his tear stained eyes adjusting to the light of the room. His face and undoubtedly the rest of him was covered in sweat and his face had gone pale. Asuka moved away just a little bit more in case he had to get up.

After a few moments of silence she reached out tentatively with her hand and softly stroked his face, using her thumb to wipe a stray tear away. Shinji's eyes moved to meet hers and it seemed that he was finally realizing that he was awake and safe from whatever nightmare it had been that had caused this to happen.

He slowly started to sit up and then suddenly threw himself at Asuka. She adjusted herself nearly being knocked off of the bed by his sudden movement. She felt his arms come around hers and hold her tightly as he buried his face into her chest letting out loud sobs.

Asuka brought her own arms around Shinji and gently patted and rubbed his back, "Shh... I'm here now Shinji. It was just a nightmare."

She felt him nod his head and squeeze her tighter in response. She felt a slight twinge of pain as he managed to squeeze her too tightly at one point but she kept quiet. She had never seen Shinji in a state like this before after one of his nightmares.

She had certainly heard him call out in his sleep or wake up crying before. There had been the nightmare he had suffered on the way back to the Wunder, as well as the one he had had whilst in their quarters but she had never seen him completely break down like this. He had never thrown himself at her and held her this tightly before.

She continued to not say anything, instead she focused on rubbing and patting his back. After a time she leaned in and kissed the top of his head, "It's alright Shinji. I'm here."

Asuka allowed him to cry into her shirt and hold her for as long as he needed to. She just kept up the attempt to comfort him by swapping between stroking his back, running her hand through his hair and kissing the top of his head.

After a time Shinji finally let his grip on her go, somewhat to Asuka's relief. He let out another sniff and slowly pulled away from her and rubbed his eyes, wiping away the stray tears that remained. He took a deep breath to steady himself before giving an embarrassed glance downwards at the wet patches he had left behind on Asuka's nightshirt.

"S-Sorry."

Asuka playfully slapped him around the head, "Idiot. It's just a nightshirt, not even mine anyway."

"I-I meant about the whole thing... waking you and..."

She cut him off and told him sternly, "Don't... don't apologize for that. Nightmares are a part of our lives, you know it happens to me too."

She let out a laugh as she remembered her last nightmare and her reaction to it outside the Entry Plug, "Although admittedly we do deal with It slightly differently. So... do you want to talk about it?"

Shinji shook his head, "N-No... well yeah but not yet. I need to... calm down a bit first. Can I have some water please?"

Asuka smiled and nodded, "Yeah of course."

She got herself off of the bed and made her way towards the small kitchen. Leaning into the fridge she took out one of the bottles of water and glanced back over at Shinji. His gaze had turned towards the gap in the curtains to the rising sun outside.

 _'He looks so thoughtful...'_ She thought to herself as her own body suddenly started to tremble. She kept her position hunched down in front of the fridge and took a deep breath of her own. Now was not the time for her to become nervous. Instead she had to stay strong for Shinji, she had to be the in-charge Asuka for the moment.

Yet there were certain things about Shinji that she had noticed when she realized he was having a nightmare that would make their conversation more difficult. Words he had uttered that frightened her to think about because of what it would trigger in her own memories.

_'His mother... Shinji was calling out for his mother...'_

She suppressed a shudder as just thinking of the word threatened to unleash those memories she kept hidden away. She had told Shinji about them once before, let it all out to him just as she had told Mari about it long ago. Yet afterwards she had locked them back up, not wishing to think about those times anymore.

Realizing her mouth had gone dry she took out two glasses from a cupboard and poured water into each one. She took a sip from her glass and tried to steady her nerves.

_'Not right now... Shinji needs me.'_

She made her way back over to Shinji and placed both glasses down on the bedside table. Shinji's hands were still trembling but he was looking a bit better. Instead he was looking at Asuka now with some concern.

"I was... shouting in my sleep wasn't I?"

Asuka nodded, "Yeah, you were."

"We... If you would rather I not talk about it I won't. I know that sort of subject isn't easy for you ei-"

Asuka didn't even have to say anything, all she had to do was glare at him. It was scary enough seeing her glare before she had removed the eyepatch, now that he could see both of her eyes it became a lot scarier. He apologized, "Sorry..."

"Good." She let out a sigh, "I don't... exactly like talking about or thinking about my mother but... I made a promise to help you. So if I feel uncomfortable I have to deal with it and besides... probably best I don't keep it locked up so tight up there anyway. It can be good to talk... right?"

Shinji nodded, "I guess..."

Shinji reached over and using both his hands picked up the glass. He took a few gentle sips of the water before taking a bigger amount. He set the glass back down when he was done and shifted across on the bed to allow Asuka back onto it.

"So... do you want to talk about it now?"

Shinji shook his head again, "Not really but... I should shouldn't I?"

"Well if you don't I'll just force it out of you anyway." Asuka admitted with a grin, "What happened Shinji?"

“It was… strange.” Shinji felt Asuka’s arms come around him as he snuggled himself into her. He had no issues recalling the nightmare at all. He could remember each and every bit of it in startling detail, of course he knew just why this was. The nightmare was not just a simple dream, but it was a key that had unlocked scenes from his memory, “It felt… so real Asuka.”

“They always do Shinji but they’re not…”

“No but this one… I guess in a way it was real.” He admitted before looking up at Asuka, “Asuka… you know that I can’t… well I can’t really remember anything about my mother right?”

Asuka nodded, “Yeah… you mentioned it before.”

Shinji shrugged, “I always thought that maybe… I was too young to really recall her properly. Like I knew I had one and I knew I loved her but I could never properly remember her.”

“You were only young when she died weren’t you?” Asuka asked, “About the same as me and Mari were when our mothers died?”

“Yeah, I can remember things from after she died. I remember my father changing and people around me being sad and me not really knowing why but her… I could just never remember. I think… I think I might know why now. The dream I had… it was of the day she died.”

Asuka held him a bit closer as she watched him bring up his hand and clench it into a fist before unclenching it. He continued to speak, “I dreamed that I was back there in the facility where it happened. I saw them all Asuka, my father, Fuyutsuki and myself… I was actually there when it happened. I think maybe… I was traumatized by it and I lost my memory of it…”

Shinji sniffed as he trailed off, “…my memory of her.”

Asuka held him closer leaning in to kiss him on the forehead. She had nothing to say to him only to allow him to compose himself and carry on speaking.

“I couldn’t even remember what she looked like. After she died… my father got rid of anything and everything related to her. He didn’t even give me a chance to remember her! I was sent to live somewhere else barely two weeks after she died.” His tone had shifted, she could hear the anger in his voice and in turn her own anger rising.

Asuka reached for his hand and intertwined her fingers with his, He got rid of everything?”

“Every single thing, all the photos, movies, any letters… I had nothing to remember her by. Except my father didn’t manage to get rid of everything… there was on photograph left. I own it now, Fuyutsuki… he gave it to me when I was at NERV, before I piloted Unit 13.”

“I see…” Asuka squeezed his hand and swallowed back any anger she was feeling, “So that’s why you never noticed the similarity between her and Rei?”

“Exactly… I always felt a connection to Rei somehow but I never quite knew what it was.” Shinji paused for a moment, “But when Fuyutsuki showed me that photograph I knew it immediately. He confirmed it afterwards, told me that they used what remained of my mother to create Rei.”

Shinji paused again to let out a sigh, “I don’t understand… Fuyutsuki and my father… they made Ayanami but… why? Why did they create her? Was it just so that they would have someone to control or was it for something else?”

“It doesn’t matter now Shinji, we can find out about that later.” She said trying to calm him down, “So… the dream was about the accident or at least… showing you the accident.”

Shinji nodded, “Yeah… I can remember it all now Asuka. I remember being there in my father’s arms watching as she was lowered into the chamber. I remember her words to me before it happened, how she wanted me to be there so I could see the bright future that lay ahead of me. She wanted me to remember Asuka! And I… I forgot everything, I forgot her!”

Shinji sniffed again and a tear rolled down his cheek, “She said she loved me Asuka! She said that directly to me, not to the child-Shinji in the dream but she looked at me and said that she loved me! I tried to stop it! I knew I couldn’t, I knew I was powerless to do so but I tried, I yelled at them and screamed for them to stop it but none of them could see or hear me. I knew it was stupid, you can’t redo the past but I tried!”

Asuka lifted Shinji up from where he was lying and pulled him into a hug, “Shinji…”

As Shinji felt her warmth around him and let his tears fall another memory suddenly found its way into his head. It was of the conversation with Fuyutsuki when he received the photograph. Shinji tensed up as he recalled the elderly man’s words.

_‘She now resides as the control unit for Evangelion Unit 01’_

Asuka sensed something was wrong released him from the hug, “Shinji… what is it? What’s wrong?”

Shinji shook his head, “Fuyutsuki… told me something else but I don’t know what it means. I just remembered it now, I guess when he told me I couldn’t process it properly there was so much going on.”

“What is it?”

“He said that… my mother was now the control unit for Evangelion Unit 01.” Shinji looked up to see Asuka’s face had turned pale as she realized what he was saying, “Asuka… my mother, she might still be alive.”

XXX

Barclay had found his way onto the Wunder, not only that but he had also found his way into the Ritsuko’s ready room along with five members of his personal security. Ritsuko shifted her gaze between each member of his team and then finally locked her eyes onto him. Maya was stood to Ritsuko’s right, also staring a hole through Barclay.

Barclay smirked, “Captain Akagi, I wanted to commend you on a job well done the other day. Your pilots were able to defend Neo-London adequately from the Angel. You have my thanks and I’m sure the thanks of every citizen here.”

Ritsuko nodded and gave a smile of her own, “The credit is not mine to take. It was thanks to the Pilots of Evangelion Unit 08. They were the ones to engage and devise a method of defeating the Angel. I assume from your being here that you are not just here to talk about the Angel though?”

Barclays smirk grew, “You would of course be correct Captain Akagi. Yes, I am here on a somewhat… sensitive matter.”

“I see, and just what exactly is it that my crew can do in service of WILLE?”

“New intelligence has been brought to WILLEs attention concern a facility located on an unmapped island in the East China Sea. We believe that this facility was constructed by SEELE some time ago and despite their lack of activity might still be functioning in some capacity.”

Ritsuko raised a curious eyebrow at Barclay and watched as the man produced a small device from his pocket and handed it to her, “I thought WILLE had stopped operating in that area for the time being. This is fresh information?”

Barclay nodded, “Yes very, as for the source of the information it comes from a source outside of WILLE. One that whilst I cannot name for security reasons is one that assures me they can be trusted and also that you are the best person for this job.”

Ritsuko slid the memory device into her machine and waited for the contents to load. In the meantime she tried to garner more information from Barclay, “Has WILLE sent any surveillance to the area? Do we know what to expect when we arrive?”

“It hasn’t for now. Our source said that it would be best to keep things as contained as possible. As this relates to SEELE we didn’t want to take any chances.”

Ritsuko glanced at the screen as the contents of the device had finally loaded. She felt her heart start to race as soon as she saw the images load on the screen. There were a vast number of them showing a facility on an island. Further shots gave details of the interior and what lay within, “T-This is…”

Ritsuko looked up to see Barclay still looking down at her and still smirking, “I trust there is no problem Akagi?”

Ritsuko shook her head and closed the images before fixing Barclay with a stare and a smile of her own, “No problem at all. Inform your source that I will see to it that what needs to be done… is done.”

“Very good, we knew that we could rely on you. After all trusted and loyal allies are a hard thing to find in this world.”

“Indeed they are Barclay. I will have my crew prepare to leave right away.”

Barclay turned around immediately and along with his guards left the room. Once the door to the ready room had closed Maya darted around to the front of the desk and glared at Ritsuko, “What the hell was that about? What were those images?”

Ritsuko was silent, stunned by what she had seen. She opened the images up again and went through them one by one observing the facility, its various rooms and the equipment within it. Each image confirming that it was indeed what she thought it to be.

_‘He knows… Barclay knows about this place and what I was…. This was not supposed to happen, no one else was supposed to know, my past… is finally catching up with me.’_

After a time she finally looked up from the screen, “There is no problem Maya, we will leave in the morning. Can I ask you to do something for me?”

Maya nodded, “That doesn’t look like nothing Ritsuko? Don’t… don’t hide things from me, you said you wouldn’t?”

“I’m not hiding anything from you, please just do something for me.”

Maya sighed, “Fine, what is it?”

“I need you to go and get Rei Ayanami and bring her here.”


	20. The Bigger Picture

Mari slowly opened her eyes and groggily rolled her body over to gaze at the alarm clock. It was still early in the morning but Mari knew she probably wouldn't be getting back to sleep. She had had another one of those dreams again. Not so much a nightmare but not exactly a pleasant one either. It was one of those that just served to remind her of what she had lost so many years ago and just what she was fighting for now.

As sad as those dreams did make her there was also something in them for Mari to be happy about. It was as if, by having such dreams, she would never forget those moments.

 _'I wonder what you'd think of your little girl now mother... to see what she has become. I wonder what you'd say about my life and about Rei...'_ Mari thought to herself as she lay still, _'I wonder if you already know about these things. One day... I'll find out. I know you're still in there and I know I can get you back but I just... I need to find out more.'_

Mari, knowing that she was not going to be able to get anymore sleep decided it would be more productive to get out of bed. Maybe she could go for a quick jog around the Wunder and focus her mind on something else. As soon as she lifted the covers to escape the bed she felt an arm snake its way around her chest and immediately pull her back.

"Urk."

"No. You are sad. You must stay and talk about it." Rei muttered sleepily to Mari. There was an attempt by Rei to sound stern and commanding but due to her half-awake state she couldn't manage it.

Mari laughed, "That's wonderful Blue and I appreciate that but I really need to pee, so unless you want me to wet myself whilst talking to you, you might want to let go of me!"

Rei released her grip on Mari instantly, "Oh... in which case I apologize."

Mari sat up and reached for her glasses on the nightstand. She put them on, stood up and stretched out, "Nah it's fine, truth is I was going to leave afterwards anyway. Guess I have to stay now!"

Turning on the small bedside lamp she stuck out her tongue at Rei, "How did you know I was feeling sad anyway? Oh god, I wasn't talking in my sleep was I, Asuka always used to do that!"

Rei shielded her eyes from the light and shook her head, "No, but you were shifting around quite a lot and I suppose I could... feel your sadness. So when you return we shall talk about it."

"Ooor when I return I could just let you feel a lot more than my sadness?" Mari said with a grin before quickly dodging the pillow that Rei had thrown towards her.

"I am not allowing you to dodge your way out of this, I do not wish for a repeat of what happened before... arguing with you was unpleasant."

Mari dropped the grin, "I know Rei... It wasn't nice for me either I promise I'll talk about it when I get back. Gotta say though, I quite like this aggressive side of yours, does it run in your famil-"

"GO!" Rei commanded before letting out a loud yawn.

Mari giggled, "Alright Commander Sleepyhead, I'll go and pee and then come back to tell you what's wrong. I'm warning you though, this will require... at least half an hour of snuggling."

Rei nodded, "I shall ensure you receive a minimum of forty-five."

"And that's why I love you, cya in a bit Blue!"

Rei took a moment to enjoy the sight of Mari leaving the room before sitting herself up properly and reaching over to pick up the pillow she had thrown previously. She took a brief moment to adjust the bed covers and pillows and before long Mari returned. She took her glasses off and set them down on the table before throwing herself down playfully onto the bed, snuggled herself into Rei's lap and shut her eyes.

"No!" Rei said almost instantly, she reached to the table to pick up Mari's discarded glasses before shoving them back onto Mari's face, albiet slightly lopsided, "You do not return to sleep."

"Mmm... Well you shouldn't be so damn comfortable then!" Replied Mari as she sat herself back up and adjusted her glasses properly, "Alright fine..."

Mari let out an exaggerated sigh, "I'll tell you what it was, I had a dream about my mother..."

Rei kept her eyes locked onto Mari, "Your mother?"

"Yeah... it wasn't a nightmare or anything but it wasn't really a good dream either. I just dreamed that she had come back to me... I don't know how or why, didn't really care either and besides you don't questions things in a dream do you?"

"No, you do not." Rei replied.

"Just seeing her again like that and being held by her and being able to speak to her. I just..." Mari's voice cracked slightly, she took off her glasses and wiped a tear away from her eye. She waited a few moments to steady herself, "I just... I miss her so much Rei."

Rei pulled Mari towards her and this time did allow Mari to snuggle into her lap. She admittedly didn't quite know what to say to Mari right now. At first it had seemed like a good idea to get the girl to say what was wrong or on her mind but she had nothing she could say back to Mari. Rei had never had a mother, she didn't know the pain that Mari was going through.

_'What would Shinji or Asuka say at such a time, what would they do or what would they tell me to do?'_

Still not being able to summon up any words Rei decided to just sit and hold Mari. She stroked the girl’s hair softly and allowed her other hand to drift down to Mari's side. After a while Mari broke the silence, "Thank you Rei... for letting me talk about it. I guess... I do feel a bit better now. Suppose it's true what I tell other people, it is good to talk."

“I just wish that I knew what I should say at a time like this.” Rei admitted to her, “I feel that perhaps Shinji and Asuka would have been better candidates for this if they were here. I feel that maybe my support is inadequate.”

Mari playfully bopped Rei on the nose, “Silly! Just holding me and getting me to talk is enough, you don’t have to say anything to me. Asuka and Shinji might say something but they couldn’t provide the support that you can Rei.”

Mari smiled and reached up with her hand, cupping Rei’s cheek and stroking it softly, “I love you Rei, that’s all I need.”

“Thank you.” Rei felt herself blush as she gave a small smile.

“You know when Asuka used to get upset… or angry I suppose I didn’t say anything to her. I’d just let her vent and then give her a hug if she needed it. That was quite often, Asuka might not seem it but she needs a lot of hugs.” Mari laughed as she spoke.

Rei nodded before suddenly asking, “Mari, what exactly… was the nature of your relationship with Asuka?”

Mari raised an eyebrow in surprise at Rei’s sudden question, “O-Oh… it was nothing serious I suppose. We were just two good friends who were there for one another. I suppose you could say we were friends with benefits but it felt like a bit more than those words suggest. We had no one else but each other at that time.”

Mari paused for a moment and smiled, “Our mothers knew each other so we had a bit of a bond because of that and after she came out of her coma we spent a lot of time together. We spent a lot of time talking, well I say talking it was mostly Asuka yelling at first… when she got her voice back she… really did get it back.”

Rei giggled, “Asuka always was somewhat abrasive in Tokyo-3.”

“Yeah well now she had more to be angry about. I would just listen and do what I could. Eventually we just kinda started to experiment with one another.”

“I see…”

Mari felt a smirk come to her lips, “You’re not jealous are you?”

Rei shook her head, “No. If anything I am happy that the two of you were able to find some happiness in that time. I think if I learned that the two of you had been alone throughout all those years it would have made me sad. The bond you two share is powerful.”

Mari nodded, “True, Asuka is my best friend after all. We shared a lot together and for once I’m not just being perverted. Our mothers were both taken from us at an early age, we were both looking for our place in the world and we were both kick-ass Evangelion pilots. I’m just glad she seems to be happier now and that she has Shinji back.”

“She does seem happy, did the idea of her getting him back not make you sad?”

“A little bit I guess, I was worried that I’d lose a friend. You know the stupid thing of your best friends gets into a relationship and there you are alone in a post-apocalyptic world, that sort of thing. I always know that she really wanted him back though that she’d never pick me over him. In truth I kinda wanted that, I loved her but I realized it was as a friend too. So I was happy with what we had, I just didn’t want to lose that friendship.”

Mari sat up, “None of that matters now though, because I found you Rei and I love you so much.”

Rei leaned back allowing Mari to shift her body on stop of her and wrap her arms around her in a warm embrace. She reached over to turn the light off as they snuggled back down, their heads reaching the soft pillows.

In the darkness Rei whispered softly to Mari, “And I love you too.”

XXX

The hot sun shone down through the quiet streets of the Espèrer village. Shinji gazed behind him to see a small group of people returning from taking their children to a nearby school and near to them sat a couple of elderly men, their attention focused on their game of chess.

Despite this being a completely foreign environment for Shinji, with all of its pale stone buildings and desert surroundings there was a strange feeling of familiarity to the heat and noise around him. This was as far was from the city of Tokyo-3 as it could get and yet the noise around him served to remind him of that city.

He looked up just in time to see a waiter bring a small tray of drinks over to where both he and Asuka wear seated. Shinji nodded a thank you at the man and watched as he left. He took a small sip from the glass and was thankful for the cold liquid hitting the back of his throat.

“I… never thought I’d be happy to hear the noise of Cicadas again.” He said.

Asuka was in the middle of taking a drink from her own glass, she set it down and looked across at him smiling, “There is a strange comfort to them isn’t there? Are you feeling better after your nightmare now?”

Shinji gave a slight nod, “Yeah… there is still a lot I want to know about my mother though. I want to know what Fuyutsuki meant exactly when he said she was the control Unit of the Eva and so many others things but…”

Asuka quickly cut him off, “Hey! It’s like I told you last night. One thing at a time okay? We focus on locating this Tower Of Babel first and then when we get back we deal with whatever else we can. Also…”

Asuka snatched up the hat Shinji had placed on the table and dumped it onto his head, “Wear your hat idiot, I’m not risking you getting heatstroke here. This place has a good few degrees over what we were used to back in Tokyo-3 especially when it comes to midday.”

“O-Oh sorry.” Shinji adjusted the hat properly on his head, “I know we’ll get around to it but what if I said is true?”

“What that she is actually alive?” Asuka lowered her gaze. She had to admit what he had said had given her a lot to think about. If there was truth to what Fuyutsuki had told Shinji about his mother then it could mean something serious. Asuka knew how Yui Ikari had died. A contact experiment, the same way that Asuka’s mother had been taken from her, the same way that Mari’s mother had been taken to. Finally she shook her head, “I don’t know… but just one thing at a time alright. When we return we speak to Misato or Mari about it.”

“Okay.” Shinji smiled, “I can wait, for now I’m just glad that… I can finally remember something about her. It isn’t the nicest memory but at least I can remember her face again.”

Asuka glanced down at the ground for a moment. Shinji was sure he could see a hint of sadness in her eyes, "Yeah... I know what you mean."

"S-Sorry! I didn't mean to..." Shinji started in an attempted to make Asuka feel better. He hadn't realized that talking about his mother might have had this effect on her. Immediately after he started speaking her head snapped up and she glared at him.

Without the eyepatch her gaze looked somewhat scarier. He supposed it was the fact that he could see both of her eyes staring a hole through him, even the knowledge that she couldn't see out of the green eye didn't help allay his fears. He instantly shut up.

For a moment the two of them sat in silence with neither knowing what to say. There was a sense of awkwardness with both wanting to say something about the subject but not quite knowing what or how. Shinji wanting to talk more about his mother and what he had seen. Asuka wanting to talk about hers but as was always the case she didn't quite know how to put it into words.

Talking about her mother was always tough. She always knew what the subject would do to her and she hated that it would do that. She hated it even more that she hated that. Many times she wish she could just get those emotions out instead of having to be pushed and pushed. Except that wasn't her, she had to be pushed by someone, someone who could block out that voice that kept telling her she had to be strong and never cry.

She was certainly not going to be like that in such a public setting too. For now she remained quiet, until of course Shinji spoke again, "Can you remember anything of your mother... besides the... well the bad stuff?"

Asuka let out a sigh before taking another sip of her drink. She felt herself smirk slightly, that certainly wasn't a question she was expecting from him. Most of the time when people talked to her about her mother it was about her feelings after the accident and the subsequent death. Finally Asuka nodded, "Yes I can, not a whole lot but little bits and pieces of it. I remember that we lived in this little apartment with a river running alongside it. Down from it was a little corner shop and she'd take me there and buy me chocolate a lot."

She paused for a quick moment to take another drink and adjust her own hat, "I remember her coming back from work and making me dinner and playing with me. Even though she had worked all day she always used to make time to play games with me and play music to me too! She always used to play a lot of the music she liked."

"Is that the same stuff you played for us in your quarters?" Shinji asked.

Asuka nodded, "Yeah, I rediscovered it a few years after she died and really enjoyed it. Took me a while to really understand it, there is so much going on in some of those songs and I didn't really have anyone to talk to them about. Not many kids my age were into fourteen minute songs with all that complexity but I loved it."

"What about your father?"

Asuka let out a sarcastic laugh and leaned back in her seat, "That's another story. I didn't really know my father, I think I might have met him once or twice. Technically I don't know my real father, my real father is just a number on a label from some bank. I'm a test tube baby you see."

Shinji looked up in surprise, "Oh, I didn't know that."

"Well of course you didn't! It isn't really something I've told others." Asuka replied, "The man my mother was married to couldn't have children. They tried and tried but it just didn't happen but my mother really wanted one."

Asuka grinned and started laughing, "I had forgotten about that until now!"

Shinji shot her a confused glance, "What? What is it?"

Asuka managed to stop her laughter, "Oh it's just... my mother and Mari's mother were friends back in those days but the funny thing is so was my mother and your mother. My mother got a bit... jealous I guess when both you and Mari were announced so she wanted a child of her own. How ridiculous is that?"

Shinji started to laugh at that too, "I'm glad she did though, I can't imagine not knowing you."

Asuka stared at him for a moment before bursting out laughing again, "That is probably the cheesiest thing you've said to me."

The laughter subsided as she finished her story, "So anyway, they tried but he couldn't. He so my mother selected a donor and I was conceived and subsequently born. My father however decided to change his tone. He left my mother as soon as I was born and I saw him maybe twice before that. Last time I saw him was after she died. He had already remarried so I decided that seeing as he had given up on me that I didn't need him or anyone else. From that point on NERV and the Air Force bases became my home."

Shinji was about to say something else but noticed Karim step into the street and start making his way towards them both. The two of them rose from their seats to greet him.

“Pilot’s Shikinami and Ikari, it is good to see you both. I trust that you both slept well?”

Shinji gave a quick nod feeling that it would probably be a bit strange to inform Karim of the nightmare he had. He also decided that it would be best to allow Asuka to take the lead on this conversation, she knew Espèrer already and had significantly more years of experience in this world than he did. Sometimes it was hard for him to remember that Asuka was a trained military officer. She stepped forward, “Yes we did, thank you for bringing us here.”

Karim waved his hands and exclaimed loudly, “Please it is the least that we could do for people such as yourselves, especially Katsuragi. My only regret is that you arrival was not as smooth as we would have wished it to be. Angel attacks are not exactly predictable.”

Asuka flashed him a grin, “Well that’s what our Evangelion’s were built for.”

“We were fortunate you were nearby, I do not know what my people would have done to fend off such an attacker.” The three of them sat back down at the table as he motioned for a waiter and gave his order before turning to the two of them again, “I trust you both have many questions. I will do my best to answer as best I can. I imagine the last few days have causes much confusion.”

Shinji kept his eyes focused on the table and listened as Asuka started to question Karim on the events of the last few days. As she spoke his eyes wanted to her and watched as she asked her first question. Immediately he felt his heart flutter, this was a different side of Asuka that he hadn’t seen much of before. The professional officer Asuka Shikinami, “What is the current situation regarding WILLE and Espèrer?”

“Officially there is no situation but unofficially it is complicated. In recent weeks communication between WILLE and ourselves has broken down. It is something that we have feared happening for a sometime.”

“Really? I wasn’t aware of such a thing?” Asuka mused.

“No, I imagine it is something that WILLE would want to keep quiet.”

“Why have communications broke down?” She asked him.

“A few little disagreements here and there, mostly over the usage of the terraforming technolgy we have used to construct our outposts. They wanted it and we were not willing to hand it over. At one point they even offered us one of your Evangelions.”

Asuka raised a curious eyebrow at the man, “They wanted your terraforming equipment? I don’t understand, why did they suddenly want it and what reason was Espèrer reluctant to hand it over?”

 “We weren’t reluctant as such but the timing was wrong. Despite what you see in this outpost the technology is still in its infancy. Whilst this particular experiment here went right there have been many that went wrong and resulted in… disastrous consequences. The technology is not ready yet and this was the message we sent to WILLE. When we were assured it was safe then we would share to benefit humanity but not before. They were not happy with these demands claiming that they could help perfect the technology.”

“You didn’t believe them?”

“Before they started to make these demands WILLE changed its diplomatic teams to a new group. They were more abrasive and boastful. One of them spoke, perhaps too freely of using S2 Technology to perfect what we have?”

“You mean use an S2 engine? Like the one we have in Unit 02? That could be…”

Shinji interjected for a moment, “S2 Engine?”

Asuka turned to explain, “Limitless energy source, the same thing that powers the Eva’s. They were until recently declared too dangerous to use but Unit 02 and I think Unit 08 were installed with one. They thought once they could use them as a new energy source for the rest of the world but the Nevada incident saw to it that that wouldn’t happen.”

“Nevada incident?” Shinji asked again.

Asuka laughed, “God you’re clueless! Did you take notice of anything that happened back in Tokyo-3 aside from what happened to us?”

Shinji shook his head.

She sighed, “They were testing an S2 Engine there many years ago. It was supposed to be part of Unit 04 but on activating the engine there was an explosion. Everything for miles around vanished, not a trace left. They decided S2 engines were too dangerous back then. That was until they decided to stick one in Unit 02 and Unit 08.”

“So you see why we refused their help, it was tempting at first but we wished to achieve things safely. It might have taken longer but we had already had accidents. We could not risk another Unit Null.”

Before Shinji had a chance to ask Asuka turned to him,”Null being the classification for Unit 04 after it vanished into nothing.”

“Ah.”

Asuka turned to Karim, “So something changed with WILLE? How did Misato know of all this though and how long has she known?

“Not long but when she did learn she contacted us immediately to arrange for the arrangement of your safe passage off of the Wunder and into our care. As for how she knew this, that would be because of Ryoji Kaji.”

“Kaji?” Shinji asked.

“Yes. When Wille changed its team only one member remained and that was Ryoji Kaji. He had been acting as something of a liaison between ourselves and Wille for some time. His official role was that of a Special Inspector moving from camp to camp across all the Earth factions but as I’m sure you’re both aware he was involved in more than that.”

The two of them stayed silent as he continued to speak, “Kaji feared what a lot of us did. That those involved in the destruction of the old world were still active and he wanted to seek them out and put a stop to them. It was during the course of his investigation that he found out about the Tower Of Babel that you both now seek.”

“Kaji found out about it?”

Karim nodded, “Yes, he found out that both SEELE and NERV were seeking it. They aimed to use it to finish what they started many years ago. Thing is no one knew where it was so Kaji tried to learn what he could. He was able to locate the map that Shikinami helped transport.”

“Yeah I remember…” Asuka muttered.

“Unfortunately SEELE and NERV caught wind of what he was doing. Kaji was able to find the location of an artefact that would help decode the map he had discovered and he was about to uncover more. He knew there was a mole within WILLE, perhaps more and was close to uncovering it. I think he might have done but then…”

Shinji finished the sentence for him, “Someone killed him…”

“Exactly. The worst thing about it is that it happened in an Espèrer encampment, further adding to the strained relations between our two groups.”

“D-Did we find out who did it?” Shinji asked.

Karim shook his head, “No, WILLE investigated first and informed us that nothing was found. The official line from them was that it was a crime of opportunity. Someone saw Kaji, saw he was somewhat important and thought they could make some quick money selling his stuff on the various black markets. They snuck in when no one was looking, killed him and made off with everything.”

“That’s bullshit!” Asuka exclaimed, “No way would Kaji be killed like that!”

Karim shrugged, “You don’t have to tell me twice. Unfortunately by the time we could investigate nothing we found contradicted this. Thing is Kaji was onto something, he knew something and it seems he was able to pass it on to Katsuragi before he died. He must have known someone was out for him.”

“So Misato contact yourselves?” Asuka asked, trying to remain calm.

“Yes, we made the arrangements for you to escape and where we would pick you up. She informed us to aid you in any way we could and that is what we are going to do.”

“H-Has she been in contact since?” Shinji asked dreading what the answer could be.

“No, she has not unfortunately. I would imagine that her actions have landed her in hot water with WILLE. We have had people listen out for news but it has been quiet. My feeling is that WILLE would wish to keep their image of business as usual for the moment and not let any news of Katsuragi get out.”

“I-I see…” Shinji said dejectedly.

“I would not worry. Katsuragi is a very resourceful woman and will have planned for whatever it is that has happened to her. I have no doubt that you will see her again.”

“I hope so.”

Asuka made an attempt to bring the conversation back around to the task at hand, “So she arranged for us to be here, did she say anything about finding the tower?”

“She didn’t say how to find it only that everything needed to locate and access it would be with the two of you.”

XXX

Loneliness. It was a feeling that Rei Ayanami had for a very long time grown accustomed to. In her past life she had been alone. Raised for ten years in an isolated state, kept away from other people except for the Commander and whichever Doctors had been assigned to her care. At first it was Fuyutsuki, the man who had helped bring her into this world.

After that it had been the maroon haired lady. Rei could no longer remember not liking her very much. She had a short temper and didn't speak to Rei very kindly. She had eventually gone away though and her care had returned to that of Fuyutsuki, until Ritsuko Akagi had arrived.

Rei had been alive for nine years when Ritsuko had arrived and was not sure what to expect from her. She remembered feeling somewhat apprehensive when learning that Ritsuko was the daughter of the woman who had monitored her previously. On meeting Ritsuko she realized that she was a very different person. Ritsuko was much warmer than the others, treated Rei as if she were human and started to encourage her.

It was thanks to Ritsuko that Rei started attending school in Tokyo-3. It was thanks to Ritsuko that those feelings of loneliness were ever able to fade. It was a gradual change, at first Rei wasn’t sure she enjoyed a school environment. The classes were, to her, somewhat dull and uninteresting. Her teacher had a habit of droning on about life before the Second Impact.

She didn’t find it easy to make friends. Many of the people in the school seemed to avoid her or look at her as if she was weird. She supposed that with her blue hair, pale skin and red eyes she did look a bit unnatural. There was also the fact that Rei did not really know how to interact with any of them. At first going to school only served to increase those feelings of loneliness.

This ended with the arrival of Shinji Ikari. He was the first to really take any notice of Rei, being a fellow Evangelion pilot it seemed to make sense. Not long afterwards Rei found herself pulled into a loose but nice group. Her, Shinji, Asuka, Hikari and Shinji’s friends Touji and Kensuke. She didn’t find herself able to seek them out or saying much when around them but it was nice to be associated with them, to have people recognize and speak to her at times.

That had ended with the Near Third Impact and once again Rei found herself living a solitary existence. Placed into a different body to the one she had before, her memories of that previous existence wiped she lived as little more than a shell. Drifting from day to day in the ruins of NERV, seeing but never really speaking to that boy and not knowing of a life beyond her orders.

That was until once again Shinji came into her life, followed by Asuka and then many more. Rei was able to regain those memories she had lost, was able to regain the life she had left behind. Rei was no longer lonely.

She couldn’t help but smile as the LCL flowed around her as she sat in the synchronization pod. She opened her eyes just as she heard Ritsuko’s voice come through the comm system, “Okay you two, that’s it for today. Both did very well, go and get yourselves cleaned up and report back for your results.”

Rei leaned back and let out a satisfied sigh as the LCL drained from all around her. Moments later the hatch to her pod opened and she stepped out onto the platform. Mari was opposite her being handed a towel by one of the technicians. Rei was about to move over to her when she saw one of the guards moving towards her.

“Miss Ayanami, Captain Akagi wishes to speak to you.”

Rei nodded, “Okay.”

Out of the corner of her eye she could see Mari looking at her curiously as Rei followed the guard towards where Ritsuko was waiting. She heard Mari calling out to her, “I’m gonna grab a shower, see you in a bit Blue!”

Rei did not call back, she turned to Mari and gave a small nod. Before long she was in the small observation room and standing opposite Ritsuko.

“Congratulations Rei, you’re sync ratio is up another five percent. You’ve actually broken your previous record held at NERV.”

“Thank you.” Rei nodded again before tilting her head slightly in curiosity, “Is this the only reason you wanted to speak to me?”

Ritsuko smiled, “You’re quite sharp Rei, and no it wasn’t the only reason. Follow me.”

Rei complied with the request and followed Ritsuko out of the observation room to another smaller room. When inside Ritsuko turned on a light and closed the door behind them.

“I wanted to speak to you about the subject we discussed last night.”

“I see. My thoughts on the matter have not changed since our discussion yesterday, I am still prepared to do what we spoke about.”

Ritsuko shook her head and sighed, “I thought you might say that but I want you to know that you have a choice. You don’t have to ensure this, going to this place, you know what will be there. I can look for another way to do this.”

“No, it has to be me. I want to… I need to do this. I know that he will be watching and what he will expect of me. I will see to it that I do what I must.”

Ritsuko looked like she wanted to protest further but she decided against it, instead she placed both her hands on Rei’s shoulders and looked into her eyes, “What you’re doing… is a brave thing Rei. I will make sure you get all the support you need for it.”

“I know.” Rei said, “I trust you.”

XXX

The three of them were walking amongst the streets of the village towards one of the research laboratories. Shinji had taken a bit of time to process what Karim had told the two of them about Misato, Kaji and the ongoing conflict with WILLE. He realized however that he still had many questions to ask. Most of which were surrounding the Tower itself, Asuka didn't really seem to know much about it either.

"What exactly is the Tower Of Babel?" Shinji asked, "I mean... I recognize the name but I don't really know anything about it."

They paused at a corner as Karim smiled, "Do you mean the original Tower Of Babel or the one that you are seeking?"

Shinji took a moment to think about it, "O-Oh... well both I guess."

"What we know of the original comes from a number of ancient texts both religious and otherwise. It dates back to a time just after the Great Flood, I presume you both know the story of the Ark?"

The two of them nodded with Shinji adding, "A-A little bit, we did some study world religions in school but not a whole lot."

"Well the most common story is that after the flood humanity was united. We were said to all speak one singular language and all of humanity could understand one another. There was one particular kingdom in which the inhabitants gathered together to build a city and within it a large tower that could reach the heavens."

In his mind Shinji tried to work out just how large such a structure would be, he questioned how such a thing could exist or be build. He kept those questions to himself though listening to the rest of the story.

"On seeing this and their attempts God confounded the people's speech. Made it so that they would no longer be able to communicate and therefore no longer be able to build the tower to reach Gods kingdom. There are various interpretations of what happened. Some say that God destroyed the tower and the city and sent humanity to different corners of the world, it was there that they developed their own nations and language."

"Such a thing... never actually existed right?"

Karim chuckled, "Whilst I am a religious man, no I don't believe so. I think that perhaps humanity might have been foolish at points to attempt to build such a structure I don't think events happened quite as these stories state. Like many old stories there is perhaps some basis in fact, it could be that a great tower did exist at one point and was subsequently destroyed, by God or an opposing force we will never know."

"I see..." Shinji muttered, "So the one we're looking for does exist but isn't the same one?"

Asuka laughed, "The thing we're looking for definitely exists, what relation it has to that story I don't know. SEELE were fond of everything having fancy names from ancient texts."

Karim interjected, "Kaji believed that finding the tower was not as simple as finding a physical location on our Earth otherwise SEELE or your father would have found it by now. He believed the artefacts that were recovered would help reveal the location and the means to accessing it."

"But what exactly is it then?"

"I don't know." Karim admitted, "My knowledge of it is limited but we know it was referenced in the very same Dead Sea Scrolls that SEELE had been using to guide them all those years. It is important to them, it was important to NERV so it is important that we locate it."

"Except we don't even know where to start..." Asuka said somewhat angrily.

"We think we might have the means to locate it. Katsuragi had both the map and the artefact recovered from your mission several days ago. These were supposed to reveal something and Katsuragi told us she had provided you with the means to locate it."

Shinji glanced at Asuka for a moment before she gave him a nod. He reached around his neck and slid off the necklace Misato had handed him.

"All she gave us was this."

Karim took the necklace and studied it carefully, turning it over in his hands a few times, holding it up to his ear and shaking it and finally running his fingers over the edges as if trying to slide panels from it. He gave it a puzzled look before smiling and handing it back to Shinji.

"Katsuragi is a smart woman, she has hid her secrets well."

Asuka raised an eyebrow, "So... can you help us?"

Karim nodded, "We will do what we can. I do not know what secrets that necklace has within it but I do not think Katsuragi would have gave it to you without reason. When we get to our labs I will need to confirm something about the necklace."

"So there is something special about it? I thought it was just some family heirloom." Asuka said not quite believing that Misato's necklace could contain anything special.

Karim shook his head, "When SEELE acquired their Dead Sea Scrolls many years ago it was accompanied by a number of other artefacts. Most of these were kept by SEELE and held onto but over the years certain ones have managed to find their way out of SEELEs care."

"And you think this could be one?" Shinji asked as he put the necklace back on.

"Perhaps, I will have my best people look into it though."

XXX

Mari played back the recording a final time listening intently to the final words that were said. She knew that she shouldn’t be listening to it, she knew that she shouldn’t have even made the recording but she had to know. Despite what Misato had told her to do she just wasn’t going to be able to sit back and follow orders like a good girl. She wasn’t comfortable sitting back whilst Ritsuko took over this ship and things clearly weren’t right within WILLE.

Yet now she regretted making bugging the room and making the recording. She wished she could now take it back and pretend it never happened. If only because now Rei was involved in some way.

Mari had become suspicious on the evening of the Angel attack, just after Rei had suddenly been summoned to Akagi’s office. At first Mari assumed it was just something to do with Rei’s condition. Being a clone obviously had some complications attached to it so Rei frequently had to be checked up on.

Only when Ritsuko had called her again a day later Mari had gotten suspicious. She had snuck into a vent near to the office and left a small bugging device to record the conversation and find out what, if anything was going on.

Now Mari felt sick to realize there was something going on. Her hands trembled as she took her headphones off and she sat back wondering what her next move should be.

_‘Rei… what has Akagi got you doing? And what the hell was all that stuff about ‘him’ watching… is this… no. Did you mean… him?’_

The image of Gendo Ikari flew through Mari’s mind as she rose to her feet. Rei and Akagi couldn’t have seriously been talking about him. Unless something had happened, all of these changes happening so suddenly, Akagi being put in charge of the ship, Misato getting Asuka and Shinji away and Rei having secret meetings.

_‘I need to find out more…’_

Mari ducked out of her quarters and starting hurrying through the corridors. Her destination was Akagi’s office. She had no idea what she was going to do when she got there, it was possible that Akagi would actually be there when she arrived. Mari decided she would do what she did best, just make it up as she went along.

After a few minutes of traversing the vessel she finally approached the room. The door was open and Ritsuko was sat inside her attention focused on some kind of report. Mari could see the sleeping form of spot on another seat. Mari straightened herself up and stepped into the room immediately drawing a glance from Ritsuko.

“Makinami, is there something you need?” Ritsuko asked, her face and voice showing no trace of emotion. Instead her gaze just washed over Mari.

Mari could still feel her heart pounding in her chest but she made an attempt to suppress those feelings of fear and anxiety for now. She allowed a confident smirk to creep onto her face as she nodded, “Actually yes, I need to speak to you. About Rei.”

Ritsuko raised a curious eyebrow, “Rei? What about her?”

Mari shifted from one foot to the other before deciding to just come out with it, “I know you’re planning something to do with Rei. I want to know what it is.”

“I’m afraid I don’t follow. I am not planning to do anything to Rei nor would I have reason to. As a pilot she is a valuable asset to the Wunder and WILLE.”

“Bullshit!” Mari spat, “I heard everything Ritsuko. I heard the conversation you two had the other day. About this place we’re supposedly travelling to, about some task Rei has to do and more importantly about ‘him’ watching.”

A look of surprise appeared briefly on Ritsuko’s face as Mari spoke. She stood up and shook her head, “Private conversations are supposed to be just that Makinami! I would advise that anything you have heard up until now is forgotten about and I will forgive this conversation.”

“Not likely, not when Rei is in danger.”

“Rei is not in any danger, I promise you th-“

“Your promises mean nothing! You already betrayed Katsuragi when you put her into a cell and took over this ship.” Mari raised her voice as she spoke back to Ritsuko.

“I did what needed to be done for the safety of this ship and its crew Makinami. I did not want to do it nor did I take any pleasure in doing it.”

“No of course not, you don’t take pleasure in anything except being a traitorous bitch!” Mari spat back at her, “I’ll ask you again. What the hell are you planning to do to Rei?”

“You are out of line Makinami!” Ritsuko took a step forward, keeping her voice as low as possible, “I will warn you once again, forget anything you heard and leave. There is much going on that you do not understand.”

“Oh I think I understand, unlike many on here I actually saw this coming but I’ll tell you one thing. He will not be getting Rei back. I will fight the both of you on my own if I have to but he does no-“

“MAKINAMI!” Ritsuko yelled before adjusting her jacket and shooting a glare at Makinami. For a moment she had nothing to say to her except to make a final request that Mari leave, “This is your last chance Makinami. I will not answer your ridiculous accusations.”

“Is that because they’re true?”

Ritsuko continued to glare at Mari, “You shouldn’t even have to ask that.”

“I do have to ask it though because I know things that others don’t. I know there was more going on with you back before Third Impact and I know about him and your mother too. I wonder just what Maya would say about thi-“

Mari barely had a chance to finish her sentence before she felt Ritsuko’s hand on her chest pushing her back up against the door. Mari grinned, “Touched a nerve did I?”

“I am nothing like my mother.” Ritsuko spat back at her, “Those things you think you know, you have no idea at all. Yo-“

Ritsuko was suddenly cut off by the sound of sirens ringing out throughout all of the Wunder. The room dimmed and changed to a dull red glow and she released her grip on Mari. Without any hesitation she made her way over to the desk, “Hyuga, what’s going on?”

_“It’s WILLE command ma’am, they’ve detected what they think is an Angel. They want us to investigate.”_

“How far?”

_“About a day’s travel, it’s on the way to the China Sea installation.”_

“Have some scout drones sent out to get an idea of what we’re facing. Inform command we are on our way. Bring our status back up to normal for now.”

_“Yes.”_

Ritsuko turned around just as the sirens stopped and the lights came back to normal. She locked eyes with Mari once again, “This conversation is over for now Makinami. Go and find Rei and inform her of what is happening. When we have more information I will brief you both on our plans.”

“I don’t think this is-“

“The conversation is over!” Ritsuko kept her gaze locked onto Mari, “I am doing what I need to do Makinami. You might disagree with it and others might as well but you are not in my position. There is a lot you don’t understand and never will and until then your best option is to keep quiet. You want to protect Rei, you want to keep her safe? Then you do exactly as I say, no more and no less.”

Mari continued to glare at Ritsuko as she backed out of the room, “I will find out what is happening here Akagi, this isn’t over.”


	21. Under A Glass Moon

“I wonder how all the others are doing right now.” Shinji said with a hint of sadness in his voice as he absent-mindedly prodded some rice around on his plate, “It’s been over a week now since we had to leave.”

Across from him Asuka gave a shrug of her shoulders unable to reply properly with her mouth still half full of food. She waited a moment to finish and swallow said mouthful before giving her reply, “I’m sure they’ll be fine, if anything bad has happened then we would probably have heard about it from Karim by now.”

Asuka spoke with an air of confidence although she had to admit she didn’t quite believe her own words. She didn’t know just how much knowledge Karim would have of the situation regarding WILLE and the Wunder right now. With Misato likely to be locked up in a cell on the Wunder and WILLE on higher alert chances were that any Espèrer people would have been laying low for the moment.

Despite her own doubts she wanted to keep up that air of positivity, if anything for Shinji’s sake. Asuka needed him to stay focused and positive for the journey ahead. She needed him to be like that for her own sake, to keep her focused and positive too.

“I… I guess you’re right.” Shinji finally admitted before resuming his meal.

The pair had been in the village for two days now and in that time not much progress had been made on their objective of locating the Tower Of Babel. Karim and the others from Espèrer had taken a look at Misato’s necklace and had soon confirmed that it was indeed one of the artefacts that had been uncovered along with the Dead Sea Scrolls.

This knowledge had proven to be rather useless as of now though. If the necklace held any secrets no one knew how to uncover them. For a time Asuka wondered if maybe Misato had made a mistake but she knew that couldn’t be the case. There was something to the necklace they just had to figure it out.

As the team from Espèrer worked, not only to uncover the secrets of the artefact but also follow up on other potential leads it left Asuka and Shinji with a lot of time to kill. They were able to spent time together and wander around the village. At any other time this would have been nice but considering the way things were just doing nothing was not an attractive option. Both wanted to resume their journey as soon as possible.

Shinji let out a sigh as he finished what was left on his plate. He immediately pulled the necklace out of his shirt and began to examine it again. He turned it over in his hand and rubbed against it softly before slowly bringing it up to his lips and whispering quietly to it.

Just as he had expected nothing happened, he lowered the necklace and saw Asuka staring at him, a perplexed expression on her face, “What… the hell are you doing?”

Shinji felt his cheeks glow red as he let out a little laugh, “I… I don’t know, I just thought that… if this was a movie or something that maybe asking it to open would have worked! It was worth a try at least!”

Asuka continued to glare at him before smirking and letting out a laugh of her own, “You’re an idiot!”

“I know…”

“So what did you whisper to it, ‘Open seseme’ right?”

“What else?” He laughed again, “I just… I don’t want to sit around doing nothing. It doesn’t feel right, not when we know what’s out there. I feel like… I’m letting Misato and the others down by us sitting here daring to enjoy ourselves.”

Asuka looked at him for a moment before reaching across and grabbing hold of his hands. She gazed into his eyes seeing every bit of frustration in them, the same frustration that she was feeling, “I feel the same way Shinji but there isn’t anything we can do. They are looking for us and they even said they had another idea but they need to bring something else in first.”

Keeping hold of his hand she looked around the area they were in trying to think of something for them to do to take their minds off of the situation they were in. Near to them was the entrance to the laboratories, visiting them would be pointless neither were really able to contribute much at the moment.

Just a short distance past the laboratory was the docking platform and the figure of Evangelion Unit 02. Beyond that were the village boundaries and the zone in which the rich yellow desert sands faded back into the weird and lurid red landscapes of the post-Third Impact World.

Both Asuka and Shinji had been given a brief history of the village by Karim upon their arrival. This village was the first successful demonstration of the terraforming equipment that Espèrer had been developing. The Regula System as it had come to be known had managed to transform an area of five square miles, reverting it to how it had appeared before the Impact.

From this more work had continued on developing the Regular System with them attempting to build upon the success of this experiment. Eventually they were able to recover an area of ten square miles in one location. Unfortunately on a subsequent attempt to replicate that success an accident had occurred. Neither Asuka nor Shinji had asked the details of it, and none were given but they were told that it had resulted in a number of lives being lost and the area being marked as completely uninhabitable.

From what time onwards Espèrer had commissioned no further uses of the Regula System until they were absolutely certain of what had gone wrong and how to prevent it from happening again. In that time they had instead worked on other preservation projects not too dissimilar to the maritime one they had been taken to by Kaji so many years ago.

“Do you think that… maybe one day the world will be back how it used to be?” Shinji asked suddenly, “You know… with it all looking like it used to as well?”

Asuka shrugged again, “Karim and his people seem confident that one day they can perfect their Regula System so who knows? Maybe they’ll have the tech to transform all of it back to that way. There are still some areas left on the Earth that haven’t been turned either. If it does it does but if not… I’ve lived it a world like this for just as long as I lived in the previous one. Guess I’m used to it now.”

“I-I suppose... that I’m still getting used to it. I’ve only been here for a few months really. I still have so much to learn.”

Asuka very suddenly stood up and that motion was immediately followed by a loud crack as her knee hit the table. She grimaced for a moment stumbling and resisting the urge to cry out and grab her leg. She shot Shinji a glare that instantly told him to not say a word, he complied. Finally she tried to recover it by smiling, “I know… what we’re going to do. If we can’t contribute in the labs we may as well do it the only way we can.”

Shinji was confused, “How do you mean?”

“It’s a dangerous world out there Shinji. They have some stuff to repel an attack but nothing says state of the art defenses like an Evangelion!”

“You mean…”

Asuka nodded, “We’re going to take Unit 02 out and have a bit of a walk around the area. Make sure nothing is approaching and maybe even get the guys here to throw some training targets out way! We have to stay sharp don’t we, and besides you still have a lot to learn about being the support pilot in an Eva!”

Asuka didn’t give him an opportunity to respond, she grabbed him by the hand and pulled him up onto his feet. He staggered and stumbled as he tried to get his balance and keep up with his enthusiastic girlfriend. He certainly wasn’t going to disagree with her, he was just as fed up with sitting around and doing nothing too.”

XXX

By the time Mari finally got herself into the Pilot’s locker room Rei was already there. Several hours had passed since the Wunder had changed course to intercept the Angel and according to the reports the Angel itself had also altered its course and was now much closer than they originally expected. Estimates now had it only eight hours away from their present position. Rei and Mari had been given the order to suit up before a briefing and sync test.

Mari said nothing as she entered the room, instead she moved straight to her locker, opened it and pulled the deflated plugsuit from it. She quickly stripped off her clothing and stepped into the suit and pulled it up around her shoulders. The tapped the button on her twist and felt it tighten around her.

For Mari wearing the plugsuit was like an extension of herself. She always enjoyed wearing it, especially when she had started to develop in certain ways. She loved the way it conformed to her body, showing off each and every one of her curves. There was also a certain comfort to it though, like she belonged in it.

She was naturally quite a confident person but being in the Plugsuit and around the Eva gave her just that little bit more. She was going to need that extra shot of confidence now as she finally looked towards Rei.

For the first time in quite a whilst she didn't know what to say to Rei. Mari had made the decision to talk to Rei about what had happened previously with Ritsuko but now that she was here wondered if it was truly the best thing to do. Was now an appropriate time to bring such a subject up? Also how would Rei react to the news that Mari had essentially eavesdropped on her?

_'I don't know if she'd forgive me for that. I know if it was Asuka she'd probably kill someone for something like that. If it was Shinji he'd probably be disappointed but Rei... how would she react? It's not like... I meant to eavesdrop on her, I wanted to know what Akagi was up to. I thought Rei was in danger.'_

Her nervousness and worrying must have been quite apparent as next thing Mari knew Rei was standing before her wearing that cute smile of hers that Mari had grown to love.

"Something is bothering you." Rei said as she took Mari's hand into her own. It was not a question but a statement and as if programmed to respond to it Mari simply nodded.

"Y-Yeah, just... nervous about fighting another Angel I guess." Mari lied, feeling awful for doing so. In truth the Angel was barely in her thoughts. She had no concerns about it at all, for Mari the thing would appear, both her and Rei would go out and fight it and defeat it.

"I understand, I am also nervous." Rei said with a nod, "But if we support each other we will be about to defeat it. Out bond is too strong to be broken."

If it was possible Mari would have melted on the spot at hearing Rei's words. At any other time she'd have thrown herself at Rei, pinned her up against a locker and kissed her passionately for saying something like that. Now was not that time though. Instead she settled for raising Rei's hand to her lips and planting a soft kiss on the back of it.

Moments passed as the two stood in silence, Mari just stroking the back of Rei's hand lightly with her fingers. With each passing second the weight on Mari's mind got heavier and heavier, she kept going over scenario after scenario wondering what the right thing to do was. She tried to figure out what others would tell her, if she asked Asuka or Shinji or Misato what they would say.

Finally she let go of Rei's hand and took a step backwards, having made her decision.

"Okay... I don't know if this is the right thing to do. Especially not now when we're approching an Angel but I can't keep it in anymore, if something happens to any of us and I haven't got this out then... I'll just regret it."

The smile on Rei's face had turned to a frown, she looked back at Mari reaching out to cup the bespectacled girls cheek, "Is... everything alright?"

Mari shook her head, "No... it isn't. Rei I heard the conversation you had with Akagi the other day. I... I confronted her earlier today before I came here about it."

Rei's expression didn't change which only served to make Mari feel worse. She had been hoping for Rei to maybe look disappointed, to scowl at her or maybe lose her temper. Instead Rei looked contemplative as if she had just been given a difficult maths problem to solve.

"You... heard us. How did you hear us?"

"Long time ago Kaji gave me a few toys he used to use in his travels. I hid one of the recording devices in a ventilation shaft above the office." Mari admitted as she kept her eyes focused on one of the benches, she dared not look at Rei anymore, "I was suspicious of Akagi! I thought that maybe she was going to try to do something to you or that she was up to something else in there! You can't blame me right? Look at what she did, she took over the Wunder, is the only one who knows what you are and how to deal with that and it... well it scared me."

"I suppose considering that I cannot blame you..." Rei finally said, her voice betraying some traces of sadness, "I am happy that you are worried about me but yo-"

Mari finally looked at Rei again, "I... just wanted to help you Rei. I know about the control that Ikari had over you for all those years and I guess I wanted to make sure something like that couldn't happen again. I didn't mean to eavesdrop on you like that, I was only after Akagi. I'm sorry."

"I understand your concern but there is no issue between myself and Dr Akagi." Rei said, "She is in charge of my medication and wishes to help me. You have no reason to be suspicious."

"I do have reason though don't I? I know that isn't everything!" Mari shot back, "I heard all of it Rei, I know that... whatever place this is we're going to that it's dangerous. I know that she has got you doing something there! Please... what is it Rei, let me help you!"

Much to Mari's surprise it was now Rei's turn to look away and avert her eyes, "I am afraid that I can not tell you."

Mari felt her stomach drop at hearing those words. She took a step towards Rei only for Rei to step back and shake her head at Mari.

"R-Rei... I thought we had an agreement to help each other. " Mari was finally able to get within reach of Rei and bring her hand to Rei's cheek, "We can tell each other anything, I want to help you Rei."

Rei didn't move but nodded slowly keeping her gaze averted, "I know you do but there is nothing you can help me with. What I have to do... the nature of the place we are going... it is something I cannot tell you yet. You are not ready to be told, it is... my burden to carry. I am sorry."

Mari backed away from Rei, tears threatening to form in her eyes and the weighty feeling in her stomach increasing, "R-Rei I don't... understand."

"It is not you Mari... I am just not able to tell you until it is over. Please try to understand. Do you trust me?" Rei asked.

Mari nodded, "I do trust you Rei but I can't trust Akagi. I heard that conversation! I heard the reference to a facility and a reference to 'him', what is Akagi planning Rei? What are you caught up in! I can help you, we can end it before it begins, we can run away just like Shinji and Asuka did!"

Rei shook her head, "No Mari... you don't understand. What I need to do... Akagi is not forcing me or planning anything. She is trying to stop me as well but I have to do it. I just... can't tell you yet. You will understand in time but I need your support for now. I am scared of it as well but I mustn't run away from it."

"Then tell me what it is Rei!" Mari said defiantly.

"I cannot!"

Mari considered asking again but before she could say anything an alert sounded throughout the room.

_'Pilot's Ayanami and Makinami please report to the Captain's Meeting Room immediately for briefing.'_

Mari turned back as Rei grabbed both of her hands and looked into her eyes again, "Please understand Mari... I wish I could say something but... I cannot. I would be putting you at risk too and... I love you too much for that."

XXX

Ritsuko had seen a lot of strange and horrific things in her life, to the point that it actually took a lot to scare her. Yet the image that was being displayed on the screen right now had that very effect. It was hard to explain why, it was just unnerving to look at. As she gazed around the room she could see that it was having a very similar effect on the others that had been assembled.

No one had said a word since she had put it on the screen instead they all averted their eyes and exchanged nervous glances at one another. She didn’t blame them, it did look nightmarish.

The door to the room slid open and in stepped both Mari and Rei in their plugsuits. Ritsuko gave a nod to Rei who did nothing back, she then briefly caught the eye of Mari who immediately looked way. It was obvious that the girl was still angry with Ritsuko from their earlier encounter, her expression said it all. Their dispute was not of importance to Ritsuko right now though, instead all that mattered was the image of the Angel on the screen.

She gave both Rei and Mari the opportunity to sit down before starting to speak, “Now that we are all here we can begin. Out scouting drones sent back the following images a short while ago. This is what we are dealing with.”

Everyone’s eyes hesitantly turned towards the screen again and Ritsuko watched out for their reactions. Maya’s eyes had widened with fear ever so slightly, it seemed only natural. Maya was terrified of the Angels and what they were capable of. Makoto and Hyuga also seemed to be shocked by the look of the Angel, they had been there for all the Angels so far so that certainly said something.

Takao, the oldest of the remaining bridge crew, looked to be in deep thought and contemplation as he glared at the image. The three younger members of the crew kept on looking from the screen to each other, exchanging worried glances and wondering just what this thing was.

Finally Ritsuko looked towards Rei and Mari. They were both looking at it too their eyes locked on their upcoming opponent. Rei looked fearful, her hands visibly shaking. Mari, the girl who normally wore a grin when looking at an enemy seemed to be frozen on the spot, it was however her who broke the silence and asked the question that no one else dared to, “I-Is that… an Eva?”

All Ritsuko could do was nod solemnly, “Yes… we believe it is.”

Mari stared at the image on screen once more and suppressed a shudder. The scouting drone had been able to capture the entirety of the being from the front. She could see that there were in face two objects captured in the image.

The first object was the Evangelion itself. It was standing upright and motionless, its stance reminding Mari of a soldier standing to attention.

She thought back to the other Eva’s that had been built trying to recognize which one this might be. It did seem familiar but she couldn’t quite place it. Its shape resembled Evangelion Unit 01 in a few places and also had elements of Evangelion Unit 03. She knew that it could be neither of those Units though. Unit 03 had been destroyed a long time ago and Unit 01 was powering the Wunder.

There were other possibilities she thought to herself but it was pointless speculating at the moment. Instead she continued to look the Unit over, starting from its feet all the way upwards. The machine had a bizarre colour scheme and also looked like it was missing sections of its armour. This Eva seemed to have a zebra like pattern painted onto it which in another time or place might have looked comical.

What was not comical was the head of the Unit. The head was completely jet black and where the eyes of the Unit would normally be were two round glowing orbs. Beneath this where the mouth of the Unit would be was another glow, it seemed to point upwards giving the Eva a sadistic looking grin.

It was unnerving, she couldn’t explain why but it just looked so unnatural, even compared to all of the strange things she had seen so far. It genuinely frightened her and the more she looked at the still image the more she got the feeling that the Unit was staring directly at her, she averted her eyes. It was silly and she knew but she was frightened that the Eva in the image was suddenly going to come toward and walk forward.

The other object on screen was situated directly behind and slightly above the Evangelion. It was a large sphere and seemed to be attached to the Unit by means of two rope like strands wrapped around its shoulder pylons. This sphere was also covered in the same black and white pattern that the Eva was and the entire image gave off the vibe of someone holding a balloon.

There was another lingering thought inside Mari’s head and as she reached out slowly to take hold of Rei’s hand and give her girlfriend a quick look she knew that Rei was thinking the same thing. There was another Evangelion there, despite how terrifying it looked that meant that there could be another pilot in there, another human. Neither of them really wanted to hurt another person unless they absolutely had to.

“Do we knew what Evangelion it is?” Rei finally spoke, her voice soft and slightly shaking. Mari gave her hand a small squeeze to comfort her. Any thoughts of their argument moments before had vanished, this was more important.

Ritsuko nodded in confirmation and this prompted Maya and stand up to explain, “The shape and dimensions of the Evangelion correspond with that of Evangelion Unit 04. The same Unit that vanished fourteen years ago during an activation test in Nevada.”

Aoba spoke up, “Activation test in Nevada? You mean the Null incident? I thought Unit 04 had vanished without a trace! It wiped out an entire base, nothing was left for miles around!”

Maya nodded, “That is what we thought. The circumstances behind what happened in Nevada on that day are still unknown to us. Between the people in this room it was believed that SEELE might have sabotaged the experiment but nothing was proven.”

“Sabotage?” Tama suddenly spoke up, “You mean… someone actually wanted that to happen? Someone actually made it so that all of those lives were lost, for what rea-“

“Now is not the time to discuss what might have happened fourteen or so years ago.” Ritsuko stated bluntly, “We focus on what is happening in front of us right now. Evangelion Unit 04 has reappeared and also appeared to be part of an Angel. It is possible that the presence of the Angel is what caused the incident all those years ago. With that in mind, if the Angel was the cause it means that anyone within a certain radius of this Angel is at risk. For these reasons we are going to attempt to fight the Angel at range.”

Maya continued from where Ritsuko had left off, “The Wunder will approach the target and maintain a distance of five kilometers. When it is safe to do so we will deploy Evangelion Unit 08 along with a high powered positron rifle. TARKUS Units will work to set up the rifle and power banks for it as quickly as possible before retreating to a distance of seven kilometers.”

Mari and Rei exchanged a quick glance at one another before Mari nodded, “So we snipe the Angel from afar? Is the rifle going to be powerful enough to get through its A.T. Field?”

Maya nodded, “We believe so. The rifle is based on the same prototype weapon that was used against the fifth Angel many years ago. It’s been significantly altered since then, it is smaller in size, does not have the same power requirements yet should still output the amount of power we need to pierce the A.T. Field of an Angel.”

The room fell silent once more with Maya’s explanation, Ritsuko looked around, “Any further questions?”

Rei nodded, “What about the pilot?”

Ritsuko would be lying if she said the possibility of the pilot being on board had not crossed her mind, yet it was a thought she had forced out, “It has been fourteen years since Unit 04 originally went missing and it has now fully transformed into an Angel. It is highly unlikely that there is a pilot anymore, our priority is on defeating it.”

“It is unlikely but not impossible.” Rei said somewhat defiantly, in a moment that reminded Ritsuko very much of Shinji or Misato, “If there is even a small chance should we not try to rescue them?”

A few awkward glances were exchanged around the room before the pink haired Kitakami spoke up, “You heard what she said! We don’t know if there is a pilot anymore. This is an Angel we’re up against here, it’ll likely have killed the pilot by now and besides if there is someone in there then they’ll probably just be contaminated by now and be a risk to us!”

“Shikinami was not a risk to us.” Rei stated rather bluntly, “When she was in Unit 03 that was taken over by an Angel and she managed to survive. My brother was able to survive inside of Evangelion Unit 01 for fourteen years. It is not impossible, so should we not attempt to rescue them?”

Nagara now piped up, “I can’t believe I’m doing this but I agree with Ayanami. I signed up to WILLE to save lives and help this world. Not to condemn people, if there is a chance we can save someone then… I think we should take it.”

“You can’t actually be serious?” Tama now spoke, “You saw the fallout of that thing in Nevada right? We know how dangerous this is! The pilot is likely already dead, we cannot risk it surely!”

Nagara nodded, “I know just how dangerous it could be but I think if there is a chance then we sho-“

“Enough!” Ritsuko’s voice echoed through the room and put an end to the impromptu debate, “Rei, I understand your concerns regarding the status of the pilot but you do understand that the chances of the pilot being in there and alive are slim to none right?”

Rei nodded again, “Yes, I understand that but a very long time ago the chances of us defeating an Angel falling from the sky were also said to be slim to none. Yet we did it and that is why I do not think we should give up.”

Takao let out a hearty laugh, “Well the kid knows her stuff, almost like she prepared for this.”

Rei was not sure what to make of Takao’s comment, she turned to him, “Thank you but I did not prepare.”

Ritsuko ignored Takao and turned her eyes onto Mari, “And what do you think Makinami, you’ll be the lead pilot in this after all.”

Mari glared back at Ritsuko, “I always preferred to fight ranged but I’m not comfortable with the idea of killing someone. I’ve fought against humans before and didn’t like it. My best friend was almost condemned in a similar fashion too and I don’t want that to happen to someone else.”

“Oh come on!” Tama called out, “This is not the same as Shikinami! This person has been in there for fourteen years! Alone in an Eva, no one could survive that!”

“As I said before, my brother Shinji was able to.” Rei said, correcting him instantly. Her comment drew a few sniggers from others around the table and silenced him in the process.

Rei looked around the table, “I understand the thread the Angel poses to us but if there is a way to save the person inside, I think we should take it.”

All eyes now turned towards Ritsuko and Maya who remained silent for a few moments. Ritsuko took a bit of time to think about it, the logical choice would be to deny Rei and just go on with the mission. Yet that would only end up hurting Rei and Ritsuko didn’t want to do that.

There was also the matter of her conscience. She had written off Shinji in the past, almost condemning in and forcing Misato to use the collar to kill him. She did not want to make that mistake again, she was not a murderer.

“We are still several hours from the target. If in that time we can confirm the presence of the pilot or a means of extracting them we will alter the plans. I can make no promises, for now prepare to attack according to the plan laid out.”

Rei smiled, “That is fair, thank you.”

XXX

Ritsuko entered her office followed closely behind by Maya. This was where she always preferred to be, staying and dealing with things in the ready room just didn't feel right. This office the labs near to it and the Eva were her home.

Ritsuko immediately sat down at her computer as she heard Maya's voice behind her, "We are actually going to look into rescuing the pilot then?"

Ritsuko turned her chair around slowly and as she did so Maya could see the tiredness written all across her lovers face. She had seen this building for a while, not just since Ritsuko had taken charge of the Wunder but in the weeks leading up to it as well. She allowed her guard to drop for a moment, making her way over to the woman and resting a hand gently on her shoulder.

Ritsuko finally nodded, "We are going to do what we can. I said in that meeting that I would make no promises that we can rescue the pilot but... if we can find a way then we should do so. I am not going to order someone's death... not again."

"This is about what happened with Ikari isn't it?"

Ritsuko smirked, "Among many other things yes. When he came back it was I who ordered the collar be placed on him and it was I who urged Katsuragi to use it. I should never have done that, I'm better than that."

"That was different though, we were all scared of him. Some of us still are and it made sense at the time."

Ritsuko laughed, "You really think so? A scan proved to us that he was human and yet we still had it on him. I disagree with how Katsuragi handled the situation regarding Shinji and how she has handled other situations beyond that but I am not completely free of wrong-doing myself."

"You did the right thing Ritsuko, Katsuragi couldn't captain this ship anymore. We can't achieve what we want to with her in charge."

Ritsuko nodded, "I know... but that knowledge doesn't make things any easier. Talking about this is pointless, what we want to achieve doesn't matter until this Angel is defeated."

Maya back away slowly allowing Ritsuko to turn towards her computer again, she watched as an image was brought up of the Angel. This time focused entirely on the Evangelion itself and also from multiple angles.

"Do you think we can actually recover the pilot?"

"You tell me Maya, you're probably one of the few people in this world with the same level of knowledge on the Eva's as I do. Do you think we can recover the pilot?" Ritsuko asked.

Maya took a moment to think about it before nodding slowly, "It is a risk but I think that we should be able to. If we can recover the Entry Plug much like we did with Ikari then we might be able to recover the pilot."

Maya took a moment to pause, "That is of course if we can recover the Entry Plug. With Ikari it was a matter of locating and bringing Unit 01 back to us. With this... it's inside an Angel and it looks far beyond what happened with Unit 03."

"I agree. We also have no idea of how the pilot might be synchronized with the Eva at the moment. We don't exactly have the Eva's systems hooked up to ours. If we did we could try ejecting the core remotely but I doubt that is going to work."

"If we damage the Eva enough then maybe we could extract it manually."

"Exactly." Ritsuko brought up some blueprints of Unit 04, "The problem is that we don't know anything about what this Angel is capable of nor do we know anything about Unit 04. It was constructed by the US Government at the time and away from NERVs eyes. We saw that when Unit 03 was infected many years ago the natural abilities of the Eva were greatly enhanced. We should expect that Unit 04 will be the same, as for the object above we don't know what that is."

"It's too much of a risk Ritsuko." Maya stated firmly, "We both know that."

Ritsuko frowned, "it's not impossible."

"Why are you so intent on helping Ayanami with this?"

"You know why Maya!"

Maya sighed, "Yes... I know why. I'm sorry but I just... find it hard to trust that Ayanami sometimes. I know what you said is true it's just..."

Ritsuko turned in her chair again and reached up a hand to Maya's face, "I know Maya... but if you can't trust her then trust me alright?"

Maya reached up with her own hand to Ritsuko's cheek and smiled softly, "Thank you."

Maya slowly leaned in and kissed Ritsuko softly on the lips, running her hand around from her cheek to the back of her head. Her other hand slowly tracing its way down Ritsuko's body eliciting a soft moan from the woman.

Ritsuko pulled away reluctantly despite enjoying the moment, "Maya... I can't, we have to-"

"No." Maya said, "We don't have to. We haven't done anything together for so long Ritsuko and you made a promise to me a long time ago that you'd be there for me when I needed it. I made that same promise to you too, you need it. We already know what we need to do. It can wait."

Ritsuko looked at the smile on Maya's face and then into her eyes for at least half a minute before wondering if she should allow this to happen. It seemed to dumb and irresponsible but Maya was right. It had been so long since the two had spent any time together. The two of them together could easily figure something out and her body and was aching out for that sort of comfort right now.

"We can't take too long." She said finally.

"It'll take as long as we need it to take." Maya said with a devious smirk.

"Lock the door."

Maya backed away immediately and went towards the door ensuring it was locked firmly. Ritsuko set about ensuring any communications directed her way were diverted elsewhere and seconds later Maya was back up against her, kissing her neck and letting her hands explore Ritsuko's body.

Ritsuko allowed herself to be taken over by Maya, allowing her to do whatever it was she wanted and allowing herself to forget about everything else in the world for this moment.

XXX

Rei had been wandering aimlessly around the Wunder for quite some time since leaving the meeting. As she finally came to a stop she found that she was stood outside the medical bay. She wondered why she had ended up at this place. She was not feeling unwell and there was certainly no other reason for her to be here.

Yet she had nowhere else to go at this moment in time. Her earlier conversation with Mari was playing through her mind over and over. She couldn’t help but feel guilty for not being able to tell Mari the truth yet. She was wondering if she should tell Mari the truth of their destination and what would lie there. Wondered if she should tell Mari the truth about what Ritsuko was to Rei all those years ago.

Telling Mari those things would be a massive weight off of her chest but at the same time she knew it just wasn’t possible. It would complicate things so much to tell her anything right now. Rei was not ready to tell Mari nor did she think Mari was ready to be told either.

As Rei stepped into the medical bay she spotted Sakura was sat on the other end of the room and looking down at a tablet. She spotted Rei had entered and shot her a quick smile, “Hello Rei! This is a surprise, is everything alright?”

Rei smiled back and nodded, “Yes, everything is fine. I was just taking a walk.”

“I see.” Sakura placed the tablet down and got to her feet and made her way over to a small kitchen area that had been set up in the bay, “Would you like some tea then whilst you’re here?”

Rei nodded again, “That would be nice, thank you.”

Sakura immediately started making some tea, talking to Rei as she did so, “Take a seat, well I bed I suppose. I’ll bring it over to you.”

Sakura happily hummed to herself as she made the tea. Rei moved further into the room and selected a bed close to the kitchen area and sat herself down. She watched Sakura as she moved around the kitchen and smile on her face an ever present feature.

Rei had not spoken to Sakura too much since coming to the Wunder but the few encounters she had had were always pleasant ones. Sakura always seemed to be happy and enthusiastic and more important she always seemed to take the time to talk to people. She supposed that this is what made her a good person to work in the medical bay.

She had at one time been told by Shinji that he would sometimes go and speak to Sakura about life on the Wunder when he felt he was unable to speak to anyone else. He said that despite her being young she seemed wise and always willing to help. With that in mind Rei wondered if maybe her coming here wasn’t just the result of her wandering aimlessly, maybe her subconscious had selected this place as a means to get advice.

A few moments later Sakura brought over a cup of hot tea and set it down beside Rei on a small bedside table. She placed a small pot of sugar and a pot of milk near to it. She went back to the kitchen and brought over a second cup for herself before sitting on the bed opposite to Rei.

“So do you want to talk about what it is that’s bothering you then?”

The question caught Rei off guard, she was still debating in her own head whether she wanted to talk about it. All she could do was give Sakura a confused glance, shake her head and a somewhat flustered response, “I am… I do not think there is… I… I am fine… I think.”

Sakura giggled, “You know, you’re just like your brother in many ways.”

“I am?” Rei enquired.

“Yup! You both have exactly the same expressions when something is troubling you.”

Rei felt herself blush, “I do?”

“Yeah! You’re both really alike, maybe more so than you think.”

Rei felt herself smile, “I am… glad that you think so. Are you like your brother in any way?”

“In some ways we are, more so then I think a lot of others see it anyway. People always looked at the two of us and made a very clear distinction, Touji is the stubborn, headstrong one who charged in without thinking and can get into trouble. Sakura is the kind, caring and thoughtful one. I’m the one who is there for people.”

“Is that not true?”

“Well it is true that we are both each of the things people describe but we each have our moments where we’re alike. Touji is incredibly kind and caring and he’s always there for people if they need him and be. People just don’t go to him usually on account of his big face.”

Rei felt herself giggle at Sakura’s remark, “And me? Well I’ve been known to be a bit headstrong and stubborn from time to time too.”

“In what way?” Rei asked, suddenly very intrigued by Sakura’s admission.

“Well you can ask the people who have been in here about when it is I let them go back on duty. You have to pass a very thorough amount of tests before I let you go back to work, no exceptions.” Sakura laughed again, “I suppose there is also the time when we were kids too. It was just after I got injured and ended up in the hospital. Touji barged in stupidly and said that he had got hold of ‘that stupid kid what did it.’ I was furious with him, if I could have walked I’d have kicked his ass. I demanded he go and apologize to him. If he didn’t then I was never going to speak to him again!”

Rei was surprised to hear about Sakura’s demands although she supposed Sakura was only a child back then, children did after all say strange things, “Did you really not speak to him?”

Sakura nodded and grinned, “Yup! For a whole week! Even after he told me he had apologized I made him wait another day. Any messages had to be relayed to him through nurses or Kensuke.”

Rei laughed imagining what such a situation would have been like.

“So what is it that’s bothering you Rei?” Sakura asked, “Is it about the Angel and the pilot inside? I heard from Takao about the whole thing.”

“You heard it from Takao?” Rei asked finding it hard to believe that Sakura conversed with the elder member of the bridge crew.

Sakura nodded again, “Yeah, we talk quite a bit. Takao is a bit like an uncle to me really. He’s an old family friend. Always been there for me and Touji. When I need advice I usually go to him.”

“I see.”

Rei said as she sipped from her tea. She wondered if maybe she should be honest with Sakura about what was really bothering her or if she should lie and claim that it was the Angel. She knew that if she was to speak to Sakura about what was on her mind that she wouldn’t be able to tell the girl everything but maybe she could say enough to get some advice, after all there was no one else she could turn to. Everyone else had left.

“It is not the Angel that is bothering me.” Rei finally admitted, “It is something concerning myself and Mari. There is something that I will have to do soon but I cannot tell Mari what it is.”

Sakura’s smile faded and her expression turned serious, “I see, and is there a reason why you are unable to tell Mari about it?”

“Yes. This thing is… something that is personal to me but will affect a great many people. I do not feel that I am ready to tell her yet but I also think that if she knows then it would be dangerous for her at this moment in time, as well as others.”

“And let me guess, Mari knows that you have something that you can’t tell her?” Sakura asked.

“That is correct.” Rei admitted.

It was hard for Rei to not notice the frown that had appeared on Sakura’s face. Instantly she dropped her gaze to the floor and felt the waves of guilt wash over her, “Do you think I am wrong in what I am doing?”

Rei slowly looked up to see Sakura shake her head ever so slightly, “No… I don’t think you are wrong. It is a complicated issue, lying to people or… withholding the truth from them it’s something that… isn’t an easy thing. On both sides. Especially given the situation.”

“A part of me wants to tell her, I do not like these feelings I am having due to my keeping it from her. I feel unwell and uncomfortable because of it. Yet I am simply not able to do so.” Rei said in reply to Sakura.

Sakura sighed, “You said you had your reasons for doing so though, right? Look Rei, the truth is people do keep secrets from one another. When I was growing up in this world I kept plenty of them from my brother and he hid a lot from me too. He hid away some of the ugly truths of this world until I was ready to face them. I hid my first boyfriend from him until… well I broke up with him before I had the chance to tell Touji but you get the idea.”

“So it is alright to keep secrets from one another?”

All Sakura could do was shrug, “It really depends on the secret and the reason for keeping it from them Rei. There are times that we might want to keep something from our loved ones because we’re waiting to get additional information ourselves or because the timing isn’t right. If a patient has a test here for something they might want to keep that knowledge secret until they get the results so they don’t make anyone worry.”

“I see, but the intention is to tell the person eventually and that makes it alright?”

“In that particular case yes, but sometimes you might have a situation where the person keeps putting it off and that only ends up hurting the two of you more.”

“That… is what I am afraid of. I have seen this happen to Shinji and Asuka… I do not want me and Mari to face that sort of thing.”

“You intend to tell Mari eventually though?”

“When the time is right then I do but as of now I cannot.”

“In which case Rei you need to talk to her and tell her that. Put her mind at rest and explain to her why you can’t say anything as best you can. Mari might bug you about it but if she knows those things then it might help put some of the darker thoughts out of her mind.”

“I am just nervous about what would be the right time, I do not want it to be too late when I tell her. I hate the idea of losing her because of something like this.” Rei sniffed, which prompted Sakura to stand up and put an arm around her.

“You’re not going to lose her Rei! Mari adores you and I know you adore her too. She will understand, just talk to her. Tell her as much as you can and explain why you can’t tell her more. She will understand but she is… well she is a bit stubborn too.”

Rei nodded, “I will… thank you.”

XXX

After leaving the Medical Bay following her talk with Sakura Rei felt somewhat better about the situation she was in. She had made an attempt to track down and talk to Mari but had unfortunately been able to do so.

It was only until an hour later when she had received the call to go to the docking bay that she had finally seen Mari again. Unfortunately this had not given her an opportunity to talk as upon being briefed by Akagi they were immediately put into Unit 08 and deployed.

So now Rei sat in the cockpit of Evangelion Unit 08. Mari was in the front seat as always and was walking Unit 08 to its destination. Now was not a good time to discuss such things, they needed all their focus on the mission ahead. Instead Rei resolved to tell Mari once this was over.

The one saving grace in this situation was that Ritsuko and Maya had been able to come up with a plan to potentially save the pilot within Evangelion Unit 04. It did not require too many alterations to the original plan either. Their thinking was that they could make a few adjustments to the positron rifles output, instead of working to destroy the Eva they could weaken it.

This would be done in conjunction with an attempt by the Wunder to gain remote access to Unit 04 and either force eject the plug or at least work on providing a method of extracting it. It was explained that all of this was a long shot and they would still have to engage the Eva and Angel in combat but it was what they had.

Rei felt nervous and scared for the pilot within the Eva knowing that what was to happen could hurt them, yet the alternative was much worse. Both Rei and Mari had been warned and told that if things did look like they were about to take a turn for the worse then the order would be given to destroy Unit 04 immediately.

It was warm inside the cockpit of Unit 08, the midday sun shining directly into the Entry Plug. Rei could already feel beads of sweat forming on her forehead. She reached up to pull a visor into place and felt a chill run down her spine as she was given a close up view of Unit 04.

From far out it was a genuinely imposing figure, it stood in the middle of the wasteland like some sort of twisted monument. The surreal sphere behind it floating and rotating slowly. Through the visor she was able to make out more detail on the Eva. She could see the strange zebra-like pattern that covered its armour but was also able to see that sections of the armour had rotted away exposing the very flesh of the Evangelion itself.

She brought her gaze up to the face of the Eva. It had not moved ever since it had appeared to them hours ago. Those glowing orbs where its eyes would be still chilling her to the bone. Despite the distance Rei couldn’t help but feel that it was staring directly at her.

She immediately moved the visor back up to the top of the cockpit and tried to shake the nerves she was feeling. She distracted herself by running a check on the Eva’s other systems. This was all she needed to do, Mari was the one handling the combat and Rei would support her. She just hoped that all would go smoothly.

XXX

“Makoto, how far along are we in establishing the remote connection?” Ritsuko asked the technician as he worked on a console near to her.

“I’ve brought everything online now and we are just finishing uploading the data we have for Evangelion Unit 04. We weren’t able to recover everything, most of it was destroyed along with the Nevada base but we were able to recover backups of the pilot’s core data and the relevant access codes.” Makoto replied confidently.

Ritsuko gave a nod before stepping away from him and gazing down to the lower parts of the command centre. She looked across at Tama, “Have they set up the positron rifle?”

Tama looked up at her, “It’s ninety percent charged. Our TARKUS Crews are reporting no problems with its deployment nor with any of the power banks. They say we should be ready to go shortly.”

“Good. Order them to finish up and then return to the Wunder immediately. When they are back on board I want us positioned a hundred metres away from Unit 08.”

Nagara looked up at Ritsuko, “A hundred metres? Captain, I thought we were retreating to a distance of two kilometres from it!”

“That was the original plan.” Ritsuko corrected her, “We need to remain close to Unit 08 and the Angel so that we can establish a good connection to it. If there is any trouble we will still be able to retreat. I presume that this isn’t a problem?”

“N-No, no problem…”

Ritsuko felt the ship shudder and shake as it started to slowly creep forward. The image on the large overhead screen reflecting the Wunders movement. Finally they came to a complete stop at their destination and Ritsuko could see the figure of the Angel in front of them.

She looked at Tama again, “Status of the rifle now?”

“TARKUS Crews are saying it’s fully charged and are returning to the Wunder.”

She said nothing in reply to him and instead looked back at Makoto, “Makoto, everything fine on your end?”

Makoto nodded, “On your word we can begin.”

“Open a channel to Unit 08 first.”

“Of course.”

Ritsuko waited for the channel to be open fully before speaking, “Pilot’s Makinami and Ayanami we are about to attempt to establish a remote connection with Evangelion Unit 04. When this is done we will begin trying to eject the Entry Plug. If you detect movement from the Eva you are to shoot at it to slow it down, be prepared for your orders to change depending on the situation.”

_“Shoot at it? What about the pilot, will they be alright?”_

Ritsuko frowned, “It will just be to slow it down, target the legs to bring it down if possible and stay away from any critical components. If there is a pilot and they can feel anything then it will be an unpleasant experience but we can treat their pain and injuries here. We both know what the alternative is for them.”

 _“Right-o then, I’m ready to go when you are!”_  Mari sounded cheery when she replied but Ritsuko could detect the shakiness in her voice. She took one final look around the bridge and wondered just what it was she had gotten herself into.

_‘Is this really the right thing to do? Should I really have put this plan into action knowing the risk it poses to us all? The odds of us doing this are slim to none, I don’t need a MAGI system to tell me that. It’s because of her, I can’t turn her down… I just can’t let Rei down.’_

Finally Ritsuko took a deep breath, “Makoto, status.”

“I’ve managed to establish a connection with Unit 04!” Makoto replied, sounding surprised at what he had accomplished, “We have something but I don’t know what it is. I’m just seeing a lot of corruption on that end at the moment.”

“Can you clear it up?”

“I can try!”

Ritsuko looked up at the screen again as Makoto continued to work. There was no movement from the Angel. In her mind she had one of two theories for this, either it was not bothered by their attempts to make contact with it or they had simply gone unnoticed. She really hoped that it was that the attempts had gone unnoticed. That gave them more time to accomplish their task.

All eyes on the bridge were fixed on the screen with each person deathly silent. No one dared speak, each one afraid of what might happen next. Ritsuko took a quick moment to look around the bridge at each member of her crew. It had been so long since she had felt this sort of tension. When Misato was on the bridge, even when things were at their lowest there was always a sense of life and enthusiasm amongst the crew. That was gone now, all that was left was the air of fear.

“I… I’m in!” Makoto suddenly exclaimed “I’ve managed to clear up the corruption and I can access the primary functions of Unit 04!”

Makoto sounded surprised and Ritsuko couldn’t blame him. It was not expected to work so cleanly although she did suspect that this was only the beginning. They had managed to access the functions but whether or not they still worked was another matter.

“Good work, what do we have?”

“At the moment only basic functions are available. I’ll need a bit more time to uncover the rest but I’m able to get the vitals for the Eva and… the pilot! I can’t believe it, the pilot is in there and is actually alive!”

Ritsuko rushed over to his console, “The pilot is alive? Can you bring up a visual of the inside of the plug to confirm?”

Makoto shook his head, “No… I can’t yet but I should be able to-“

Ritsuko was not able to hear Makoto finish his sentence nor did she know if he actually did. There was a sudden flash from his console accompanied by a deafening bang. She felt her body get thrown backwards landing against the solid steel of an empty console behind her. She screamed out as pain shot through her back and she sank to the floor, the sound of sirens now filling the once silent bridge.

She crawled forward trying to force herself to her feet, her eyes barely able to see through the thick smoke that had filled the area. Though her ears were ringing she could hear the sounds of the other yelling, there were shadows around her as they moved around trying to fight the fire and sort out what was happening.

She felt a pair of hands slide around her and pull her up onto her feet. She screamed out as the pain shot through her back once more. She heard someone speak to her, she was sure it was Maya but couldn’t make out anything the woman was saying. All she could do was stumble forward and feel herself slipping into unconsciousness. The last thing she saw were the two orbs of Evangelion Unit 04.

XXX

Both Mari and Rei cringed and brought their hands up to their ears as an ear splitting shriek was heard in the cockpit of Unit 08. This was immediately followed by a deathly and terrifying silence. Rei looked forward and in horror realized that the Angel was no longer still. The sphere behind Unit 04 was slowly rotating and the Eva itself was starting to move forward.

Its movements were jerky and unnatural. They reminded Rei of a zombie from one of the games she had played in Mari’s quarters. In front of her Mari was recovering from the noise and looking around and desperately trying to open a communications channel with the Wunder.

“Wunder! It’s starting to move forward, do you want us to shoot at it?”

No reply came from the ship and Rei started to feel her body tremble at the realization that something had gone horribly wrong.

“Mari… you focus on the Angel, I will attempt to contact the Wunder again.”

Mari gave a nod, “Sure thing Blue!”

As Mari brought her visor down and observed Unit 04 slowly shambling across the landscape towards them Rei tried desperately to contact the Wunder, “This is Ayanami to the Wunder, what are our orders?”

She waited but again no reply came from the Wunder. In front of her Mari had brought her crosshair in line with the leg of Unit 04, “Rei… I’m going to shoot it!”

“No!” Rei protested, “What about the pilot?”

“I’m just going to try to slow it down Rei! That’s all, you keep trying to contact Akagi or the others!”

“I… Please Mari…” Rei said again, “Just a bit longer…”

“I can’t Rei! If I don’t do it now it’ll get closer and you know what these things are like! I’m just going to try to slow it down, maybe the Wunder will get its communications back online by then.”

“Mari!” Rei started to protest again but it was too late. Mari had already fired the first shot at the right leg of Unit 04. Rei could only watch open mouthed as the rifle shot out beam of light towards its target. Her mouth and eyes opened only wider in shock at the end result.

“What the fuck!” Mari yell out, “That’s cheating it just…”

“It vanished!” Rei added, finishing the sentence for her.

Mari immediately started to scan the battlefield trying to find any trace of the Angel. Behind them was the Wunder, still silent after whatever had happened previous but both Unit 04 and the sphere were gone. She turned around in confusion, “Was it… another decoy?”

Rei shook her head in frustration, “No it… they… they found a pilot! It has to be-“

As she spoke a huge shadow was suddenly cast over the cockpit of Unit 08. Rei and Mari both looked upwards in horror to see that the large sphere had reappeared directly above them. Mari immediately brought Unit 08 to its feet withdrawing a holstered pistol and aiming two shots at the sphere. Each one passing through it.

Changing tactics she now withdrew the progressive knife and readied herself to charge at it. Only when she tried to move she found herself unable to do so.

“What the hell! I can’t… I can’t move!” She called out.

Rei was behind her looking at the data on her screens. She looked up towards the sphere once again only now realizing that Unit 08 was moving, or to be exact it was sinking.

“Mari we are…”

“I know!” Mari shouted back as she thrashed against the controls trying desperately to move Unit 08 out of whatever it was sinking into, “Come on! MOVE DAMNIT! MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!”

“Mari!” Rei called out wishing she could do something to help. Mari continued to jerk her controls back and forth hoping that something would happen. Finally she sank forward, realizing that there was nothing she could do. She turned, Rei seeing the tears rolling down Mari’s cheeks, “I can’t… I can’t move it Rei… we’re…”

Before she could finish speaking Rei’s world went black as Unit 08 was pulled into and under whatever this Angel had. She reached out to touch Mari, to hold her or do something but all she felt was thin air. The warmth of the cockpit changed to a deathly cold and she looked up to see two orbs directly in front of her. Rei did the only thing she was able to at that time, she screamed.


	22. Deadlights

Ritsuko slowly opened her eyes to find herself in a hospital bed staring straight up at the ceiling of the medical bay. She gingerly shifted herself into a sitting position and instantly felt a wave of dizziness and nausea come over her, forcing her to remain where she was for just a few moments more. She took a few deep breaths waiting for it to pass before taking the time to look around the bay.

_'This must be how Ikari felt all those years ago each time he woke up in one of these places.'_

Across from her another occupied bed caught her eye. She made an attempt to sit herself up again to try to get a better look at the person lying on the bed.

"Makinami?" She said out loud and instantly regretted it. The sound of her own voice causing her to cringe with pain.

_'What the hell happened? I remember Makoto's station exploding and then... there was chaos, I passed out and then woke up here. Why is Makinami here too, did we beat the Angel? I have to get to the bridge!'_

Ritsuko lifted the sheets of the bed back and swung her legs down over the side of the bed. Her bare feet touching the cold floor of the medical bay. She gazed down at herself, realizing that she the clothes she had been wearing at the time of the incident had been removed and she was now in only a hospital gown.

She gazed around the room again looking for any sign of her clothes only to hear a voice calling out to here, "You're awake!"

Ritsuko turned towards the sound of the voice to see Sakura standing in the entrance to bay. Ritsuko gave her a nod, "Yes, I am awake. Where are my clothes? I need to get to the bridge."

Sakura frowned and shook her head, "Not yet, I need to check you over first before I even start to consider allowing you back on duty."

"Sakura I don't have time for this there is a-"

"Angel, yes I know and everything is being handled by Maya and the rest of the crew." Sakura stepped forward, her expression a lot more serious than Ritsuko was used to seeing, "For now you remain here until I say you can go."

"I'm your superior offic-"

"Not inside here you're not, I will not allow any officer of this vessel back on duty until I deem them fit enough to do so and I know you would not have it any other way. This goes for the person in charge too, inside this room I am the one in charge."

Ritsuko was stunned into silence by the commanding way that Sakura spoke. To look at the young girl you would never expect that she was capable of such a thing. After a time Ritsuko just grumbled, "Fine, just... make it quick!"

Sakura smiled at her, "Of course."

Sakura brought out a small torch and walked over to where Ritsuko was sitting. She leaned a hand on Ritsuko's shoulder and brought the torch up, examining Ritsuko's eyes.

"Does it hurt?"

Ritsuko gave a small nod, "Yes it hurts."

"And I presume you know where we are?"

"Medical Bay of the Wunder." Ritsuko said dryly, "The last thing I remember is Makoto's console exploding and I was thrown backwards. I hit the console behind it. I think Maya tried to help me to my feet but I lost consciousness not long after that."

"Very good."

"I can count back from ten to one or recount the months of the year for you if you want?" Ritsuko added.

"That won't be necessary, you don't have any signs of a concussion."

As Sakura spoke Ritsuko noticed a small jolt of movement from Mari's bed. The girl shifted slightly before mumbling something in her sleep. Ritsuko made her way to her feet and slowly wandered over to Mari'a bedside.

"What happened after I was knocked out? Why is Makinami here as well?"

Sakura made her way over to Ritsuko's side and gently pulled at the bed covers, covering Mari's exposed shoulders again. She shook her head sadly, "It was the Angel... after the incident on the bridge it started moving. Unit 08 went to engage it and fired a shot at it but then it vanished."

"Vanished? How is that possible?" Ritsuko asked.

"No one knows but it reappeared moments later above Unit 08. Then it pulled Unit 08 into..." Sakura paused, "Into its shadow."

"Pulled Unit 08 in?" Ritsuko asked as her mind started piecing things together, "So how did Makinami get here? Where is Unit 08 now and what about Rei?"

"A TARKUS Unit recovered Mari at the edge of the shadow, we don't know what happened but it seemed like it just spat her back out. It's been a little bit chaotic here since the incident, Maya has taken charge but they're split between figuring out what to do with the Angel and also fixing the damage done to the bridge."

Ritsuko turned to look at the other unoccupied beds in the room, "So what about Rei? Where is she now?"

Sakura's voice trembled as she spoke, "She hasn't been recovered yet. Both her and Unit 08 at still missing inside that shadow. They've been missing for six hours."

XXX

For many years Rei Ayanami had known how to cope with being alone. Now however she found the idea of being completely alone excruciating. She didn't know how much time had passed in the darkened Entry Plug of Evangelion Unit 08, only that each passing second was only adding to her own misery.

Most of her time within her prison had been spent crying or simply shaking with fear. She had not dared to move from her seat after being pulled in by the Angel. She had kept her eyes focused on the ground of the Plug staying as still as she could lest she look up and see the terrifying orb like eyes of Unit 04 once again.

The only sounds that had filled the air were of her initial calls for Mari, upon realizing that her lover was no longer there alongside her those calls had subsided and the sounds of her cries had filled the air instead.

These agonizing feelings of loneliness, sadness and fear were serving to lead Rei to almost wish that she could go back to how she used to be. Go back to a time when her emotions and feelings were dulled by whatever it was Doctor Akagi of Commander Ikari gave her. She internally berated herself for having such wishes. Remembering that despite horrible this all felt right now it was just a part of her development and growth as a person.

_'I must not... have those feelings. I have to stay strong, they will... no she will come for me. I have to believe that.'_

Despite her attempts to console herself other darker thoughts were starting to creep into her mind. What if Mari wasn't going to be able to save her? What if she was trapped in here forever? What if Mari had been taken and ended up being trapped? More tears threatened to form in Rei's eyes as she thought of the idea of Mari being trapped just like she was.

Rei blinked them away, now was not the time to have such doubts and fears. She needed to hold onto the idea of the warmth she felt when she was in Mari's arms. Needed to hold onto the knowledge of how much the two of the loved and adored one another.

_'I should have told her the truth of what was happening with me... I should have done more. Mari would have understood. I know it would have put her in danger but we could have faced it together. My last actions were to upset her and to cause her distress, I was not even able to say I loved her. I must get out of here and put that right.'_

She made another effort to force those negative feelings and thoughts from her mind. She could no longer get caught up in this cycle of fear and sadness, if she did then she would achieve nothing. She instead tried to picture what she could do to try to get out of the situation. She thought about what the others would do, what Mari or Asuka would do in this situation. She even thought about what Shinji would do if he was trapped like this.

_'I should check what systems are online. I cannot be scared of that thing out there.'_

Rei finally looked up and around the cockpit. It glowed a faint red and the smell of stale LCL hung in the air. Her first action was to look towards the front of the cockpit out into the darkness beyond. She was relieved to see no trace of Unit 04.

Now she stood up and got out of her seat, she slowly moved forward to the front seat of the cockpit. The seat was still strangely warm despite how much time had passed. Sitting down she brought up the status screen of the Eva.

_'I have been here for six hours, Unit 08s S2 Engine has been brought offline somehow, all other systems except for life support have also been brought offline. According to this I have another six hours of life support remaining.'_

Rei's hand wrapped around the controls of Unit 08 as she contemplated her next move. It was logical to assume that moving the Unit itself would do nothing. She had watched Mari thrash at the controls as they were pulled into this place and it had not resulted in anything. She weight up her options in her head.

_'My focus should be on staying alive for as long as possible. I have six hours of life support remaining but if I am able to bring the S2 engine back online then that shoul-'_

_"Stay with us..."_

Rei jumped at the sound of the voice and her eyes darted frantically around the cockpit trying to find the source of it. It seemed to belong to a young girl but there was a faint growl of distortion behind it too. She felt her body start to tremble as she looked up to see those terrifying orb like eyes of Unit 04 appear before her once again.

_"Stay with us Rei Ayanami… we need you…”_

XXX

Ritsuko had been awake for half an hour and was on her way to the meeting room. Most of the pain was still there but Sakura was satisfied that there was not a need to keep Ritsuko in the medical bay for any longer.

As she approached the room she wondered just what she had missed. Sakura managed to fill in some blanks. She had explained that Makoto had managed to escape with few injuries ending up only burning his hands. There had been a clean-up operation on the crew and an investigation started into finding out how the console had exploded like that.

She entered the empty room and looked around thinking of what they had to do next and what had been done whilst she had been out. The priority would be the Angel, finding out exactly what it was and how to beat it came first. Alongside that would be the recovery of Evangelion Unit 08 and Rei.

Her mind wandered back to the image of Mari lying in the hospital bed. Before Sakura had let Ritsuko leave, all she had been able to do was focus on the girls form. Her thoughts occupied by the argument that the two of them had had the previous day.

Before any of this had taken place Ritsuko knew how much trouble Mara could potentially be to her. She had for a time been content to let her do her thing. Let Mari poke and prod around in whatever archives she needed to and act as she wanted. After all, back then they had the same goals but different routes of getting there.

Recently that had changed. Ritsuko's goals had shifted slightly and the routes to get there were clashing with what Mari wanted. She soon realized just what Mari's activities could mean for her.

Yet there was very little she could do about it. Ritsuko was unable to restrict Mari from any of her activities and she was certainly not going to be able to keep her isolated like Misato had been. To do that would only arouse more suspicion and risk her losing control of the situation. On the other hand it would not be possible to tell Mari the truth.

Ritsuko knew she would have to come up with some sort of solution soon. If Mari continued on this path then she would discover the truth. She would also uncover other things that could only be bad news for Ritsuko and Rei.

_'I can't think of this now, when we deal with the Angel then I can think of how to handle Mari.'_

"R-Ritsuko?"

Ritsuko turned around to look at the source of the voice to see Maya stood in the door way. The woman was stood nervously clutching a tablet device to her chest and was visibly shaking. It reminded Ritsuko all too much of how Maya had been so many years ago before she had reached out to her. She often forgot just how fragile Maya could be underneath that practiced exterior.

From here she could see the red rings around Maya’s eyes from where she had been crying. Maya darted into the room placing the tablet down on the table and throwing her arms around Ritsuko, “Ritsuko I was… so worried.”

Ritsuko returned the hug, running her hands through her lovers’ hair and gently rubbing her back in comfort, “Maya… I’m fine now.”

Maya released her grip on Ritsuko and simply nodded before wiping away a stray tear. She made an attempt to regain her composure and stand up a bit straighter knowing that the other members of the bridge crew would soon be joining them, “We… have a lot to discuss. Makinami, the Angel and the incident on the bridge.”

Ritsuko nodded, “Yes, Sakura tells me you took charge in my absence. Good job Maya.”

“I was just doing what I thought was right. We needed to act and I felt I could get us focused.”

“I trust you were all able to make some progress?”

“Yes, we have been able to get some analysis on the Angel as well as repair some of the damage to the bridge. We were fortunate that more was not damaged in the explosion, it just seems to have been Makoto’s console.”

“Indeed, Sakura informs me that he managed to escape mostly unhurt.”

“He suffered some burns to his hands and was back with us in a couple of hours. I did ask him to get some rest but he insisted on helping. He wanted to make sure we had a means to stop this thing. He is currently analyzing the data we collected on the Angel in the hopes of forming a plan to defeat it.”

“And the others?”

“Aoba and the others have been co-ordinating the repairs as well as the initial rescue operations. I felt that keeping knowledge of the true nature of this Angel to myself and Makoto was for the best until your recovery or until we had formed a means to defeating it.”

Ritsuko gave a nod, “You did well Maya, I look forward to hearing what you have to say.”

“Thank you.” Maya replied as the other members of the crew starting to enter the room. First was Makoto and Hyuga, they were followed by Kitakami, Tama and Nagara and finally Takao entered. Each of them took a seat at the table and waited for Ritsuko to start the proceedings.

Ritsuko gazed around the room before leaning on the back of her chair, “First of all I’d like to commend you all for your actions over the course of the last six hours. I appreciate that you are all probably tired and stressed due to these events and your efforts are appreciated. With that said time is of the essence here. Whilst I am aware of some of the details there are still gaps in my knowledge, first what happened after the explosion on the bridge?”

Maya was the first to speak, “After the explosion we got you off of the bridge and to the medical bay and were able to put out the fire on the bridge. It was around this time that our communications went down and we lost contact with Evangelion Unit 08.”

Aoba took over from where Maya stopped, “We attempted communications with them but everything happened to fast. The explosion, the loss of communications and then suddenly the Angel started moving towards us. Makinami fired at it but it… vanished.”

“Yes Sakura informed me of that much. She said that moments later it reappeared and began to pull Unit 08 into itself. This is correct?”

Aoba nodded grimly, “Yes and not only that it started to take in things around and above it. If it wasn’t for some expert flying from Takao and Nagara we would have… well we might have been pulled in as well.”

Ritsuko looked towards Takao and then Nagara, “So we’re not at risk anymore?”

Nagara shook her head, “At the moment no, we’re a couple of hundred metres away from the perimeter and high enough that it no longer affects us.”

“Good. So we are safe at least. So what happened next?”

Maya took over the speaking again, “When we were in a safe position and the situation on the bridge was stable I sent out a scouting drone to collect whatever data we could on the Angel. We already had some data from its initial movements and from what Unit 08 transmitted to us as it was being pulled in. Myself and Makoto have been working on analyzing it.”

“So what exactly are we dealing with here?”

Rising from her seat Maya made her way towards a screen behind Ritsuko. She tapped a button on her tablet which brought up a picture of the Angel as they had seen it prior to the operation.

“When we first encountered the Angel we believe this to be its true form, the image of Evangelion Unit 04 and this sphere behind it.” Maya circled the appropriate area with one hand before tapping on her device to change the image, “In actual fact it is this that is the body of the Angel.”

She looked around to see a few raised eyebrows as the image displayed the large black circle on the ground. Kitakami raised her had, “It’s… shadow is actually its body? So the rest is just a decoy or something?”

Maya gave a nod, “Exactly, the image of Unit 04 and the Sphere is actually its ‘shadow’. We aren’t quite sure how this is possible, we think that it might in some way be inverting its A.T. Field to create this projection.”

Tama was next to speak up, “But if that’s the body it’s only… a couple of nanometers thick? How did it do what it is doing?”

Ritsuko looked towards him, “It’s acting as a form of Dirac Sea.”

“A Dirac Sea?” He queried.

“Yes, it is a theoretical space containing an infinite number of negative energy particles. Basically the circular shape we are seeing there is merely a gateway.”

“A gateway to what exactly?” Asked Takao somewhat gruffly.

“No one knows really, it’s all been theoretical until now. It’s possible it could be a link to another Universe or merely an endless void.”

“So… this Dirac Sea thingy, you’re saying that it’s technically… bigger on the inside?”

Tama gave a sarcastic laugh, “Yeah, only without a friendly man to guide you through all of time and space.”

Ignoring their comments Ritsuko continued to question Maya on the nature of the Angel, “What else do we know?”

“We know that it is possible for someone to return from it, not too long after we lost Unit 08 we picked up a distress signal that we recognized as Makinamis from close to the perimeter. We sent a TARKUS Unit to recover her. We don’t know why she was returned to us or how but it does prove that it is possible at least.”

 _‘Interesting, the Angel took Evangelion Unit 08 and Rei into itself but returned Makinami. Did it have a reason for doing so? Does it maybe want Unit 08 and Rei for some reason? Is it possible that it knows what she is?’_  Ritsuko asked herself before turning her attention back to the screen. She had no answers to her questions yet and presumed no one else did either.

“Without knowing a means of returning from within the Dirac Sea we have been unable to formulate a plan on recovering Evangelion Unit 08.” Maya continued, “Our focus has been on working on a means of destroying the Angel… should it come to that.”

Ritsuko felt a chill run down her spine as all eyes now turned towards Makoto who was rising from his seat. He looked anxious as he made his way towards them, “It is my belief that we can use the power of the Wunder and our Tarkus Units dotted around the perimeter of the Angel to neutralize the beings A.T. Field. When we have neutralized it we will drop our supply of N2 mines inside. Each one will be rigged to blow up simultaneously once they are submerged. It is my belief that this… will destroy the Angel.”

No one said a word as they listened to Makoto’s plan and immediately after speaking he made his way back to his seat and sat down fully aware of the eyes that were no on him. There was a realization in the room just what his plan would mean for Unit 08 and for Rei. Finally the silence was broken by a familiar and horrified sounding voice, “N-No… that would…”

Ritsuko looked towards the source of the voice and straight into the wide and panicked eyes of Mari. The two of them stared at each other across the room for half a minute before Ritsuko finally turned her head towards Makoto, “How long do you need?”

Makoto shook his head, “S-Six hours at the most. We will need to-“

“I don’t care about the particulars.” Ritsuko cut him off abruptly, “See to it that you have everything prepared and inform the pilots of our TARKUS Units of the plan. Maya you go with him and help out, the rest of you are dismissed.”

Everyone rose silently from their seats, no one daring to speak at the tense turn of events. Each of them shuffled quietly past Mari who was standing a few feet into the room her mouth open in shock at what she had just heard. The door closed behind her leaving the two of them completely alone.

“N-No… you…”

“Makinami I…”

“NO! You… You heartless bitch! You’ll kill her!” Mari pleaded, her voice cracking as she was on the verge of tears.

Ritsuko almost wished that Mari was yelling at her, it might have made things easier, “I am doing… what needs to be done Makinami but believe me when I say. I have no intention of letting Rei Ayanami die.”

XXX

Rei blinked and looked straight up at the form of Unit 04 and into its eyes. She knew not how to respond to the entities strange request for her to stay with it. All she knew was that it was a request that she could not fulfil. Fearfully she spoke, “I… do not understand.”

_“Become one with us Rei Ayanami.”_

“I do not have a desire to become one with you. I cannot comply with your wishes.”

_“Please… you are like us, a being born from something unlike the rest of the world which it inhabits. A being that does not belong in this world, become one with us.”_

Rei tilted her head in confusion, “This is true that the circumstances of my birth do make me differ from those around me. Yet despite this I do belong in that world, I have a place there with family and friends I wish to go back to.”

_“Please… comply with our request. We require you. We are not your enemy, please become one and save us.”_

Rei frowned at the beings choice of words and the request. She was not sure that she had actually heard it correctly. Yet at the same time she was confused as to the nature of the being, if it was so desperate surely it could have forced her. There was also the fact that it continuously referred to itself as ‘we’ all the time.

Despite her fears she also found her curiosity being piqued by it and what it was saying to her. Aware that she could do nothing to fight such a thing she decided the logical course of action would be to communicate with it and learn what she could.

“I am confused, why do you refer to yourself as ‘we’, are you implying that you were once separate beings?”

_“This is correct. We were two that become one being yet now we require enough to save us.”_

“What were you before become a single being?”

The set of eyes in front of Rei shifted upwards revealing the full form of Evangelion Unit 04 as it would have been many years ago. Rei tried to suppress the feelings of fear she felt at communicating with this bizarre entity and how unnatural those eyes felt upon her.

She watched as an image flashed up on her display showing the inside of an entry plug. Inside was a girl, her eyes closed and a strange black mask enclosed around her mouth and nose. The girls’ chest rose up and down signifying that she was alive but she made no other movements. Rei felt a chill run down her spine as she saw the girls grey and gold plugsuit still clad around her body.

Suddenly it started to make sense, the voice she was hearing was that of hers. She gasped as the image went away and only the eyes of Unit 04 remained in front of her. The voice spoke again.

_"You now understand what we are?"_

Rei nodded, "Y-Yes, you are the pilot of Evangelion Unit 04 combined with what we call an Angel."

XXX

Mari felt sick as she continued to glare ahead at Ritsuko. Neither of them had moved since Ritsuko had last spoke. Mari's mind was still desperately trying to digest everything that she had just heard. She felt her legs start to tremble and a sickly feeling rise in her stomach, it was taking all of her will to not just sink to her knees and start sobbing or throw up.

She had entered the room quietly whilst the others were listening to Makoto explain his plan. She had heard each and every word of it and only been able to stand there in shock. She had seen each and every person's face as it was explained and they realized what it meant. Finally she had heard Ritsuko give the order to prepare the plan.

It was a plan that everyone knew would destroy Evangelion Unit 08 and kill Rei. Mari was not going to let that happen. She was going to stop Ritsuko from carrying it out, she was going to do whatever it took as well.

"Liar." Mari finally muttered.

"I am telling the truth." Ritsuko said sternly, her eyes locked firmly on Mari, "I have no intention of letting any harm come to Rei."

"LIAR!" Mari yelled out causing Ritsuko to flinch, "I HEARD YOU! I HEARD YOU GIVE THE ORDER! IT WILL KILL HER AND YOU KNOW IT!"

"I AM AWARE OF WHAT MY ORDERS WERE MAKINAMI!" Ritsuko yelled back before grasping her seat firmly and trying to calm herself down, getting angry with Mari was not going to achieve anything right now, "I know... what my orders were. I am perfectly aware of that."

Mari took a step forward, "You evil bitch."

Ritsuko stood up and adjusted her jacket, "Think of me however you want, believe what you want but you are not in my position. I am doing what I have to do. I had to give that order. My priority is to defeat the Angels by any means necessary. I have to protect the people on this ship and those who are left on this planet and if we have the chance to stop an Angel... then I will take it."

"Even if it means killing someone?" Mari snapped back, "I am not going to let you do this Akagi. I won't let them do it either, I will find a way to stop you. I will not let Rei die!"

"I AM NOT... I am not going to let her die Makinami!" Ritsuko paused as she continued to speak, "The plan is a last resort in case we can't retrieve her. I still plan to do everything in my power to get her back."

"I don't believe you. If you were going to try and get her back why not tell them that, why not delay the plan until you know for certain?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"Try me."

  _'Because there are people watching us Makinami who will do it anyway regardless of my orders, that is why!'_

"Katsuragi wouldn't have given the order, she would have told them to hold off. She would have done everything to get Rei back first."

"I am not Katsuragi."

"No, you're nothing compared to her."

Ritsuko didn't rise to Mari's insult, "Think what you want to Makinami but I am the best chance you have of getting Rei back. Standing there arguing with me is only wasting whatever time we have remaining. I understand your feelings towards me but I will overlook them and give you a chance, you can either leave me to it or you can help me."

Mari shifted from one foot to another and walked around the table not taking her eyes off of Ritsuko the entire way, "Give me a reason why I should believe you. I know exactly what you were to Rei years ago, I know you used to administer her medication back then and maintain her condition. I know you must have been close to the others in NERV Command as well. Rei in her current condition must complicate things for what is left of NERV mustn't it?"

Ritsuko tried to hide her shock at Mari exclaiming her knowledge of who she once was instead she calmly sat in her seat, "You are correct, I was in charge of maintaining the Ayanami Project during my time with NERV. I not only took care of her medication but also her personal development. It may surprise you to know that even then I had her best interests in mind, it was I who suggested she attend school and who suggested she make an attempt to interact with her fellow pilots."

Mari looked like she was about to say something else but Ritsuko cut her off because she could even open her mouth, "The secrets I kept were shameful, I knew what Rei was and hid that and I also knew certain secrets of the Eva's and hid those. If people were to find that out I was hiding those things then I would probably be locked up right now. I could have prevented what happened fourteen years ago if I had acted sooner. Yet I assure you Makinami, despite what you think I am no traitor. I am doing these things because I have to, no more and no less."

"Fine." Mari finally nodded, "I will help you. To get Rei back but on these terms."

Ritsuko looked up at her, "What are they?"

"When we get her back I want an explanation. I want to know what is happening between the two of you, this place you have her going to and what she has to do. Secondly... I want to know what your mother was doing at the NERV London facility around the time my mother was murdered."

Ritsuko, much to Mari's surprise didn't protest, "The first one... is not for me to decide on. That is up to Rei to decide, it was she who said to not say anything to do. I would urge you to not pursue that too much, it is a delicate issue. As for the second demand, I will provide whatever information you require on my mother."

Mari nodded before smirking, "I can agree to that. Well then... shall we get to work?"

XXX

Rei leaned back in her seat and felt a shiver run through her. The temperature inside the Entry Plug had dropped since she had been here. The being had not spoken again since the earlier revelation that both the pilot and the Angel had become one. Rei glanced across at the display to see that an hour and a half had passed since she had last checked.

_‘Strange, it does not feel like that amount of time has passed. Also I am starting to feel hungry’_

Rei’s stomach growled in response to her thoughts. She couldn’t help but feel that now was a peculiar time to feel hungry. Although she suppose it was not something she had much control over. They did however seem to be more pressing matters than food right now. She hugged her knees to her chest trying to recover any warmth that she could.

_‘I wish that Mari were here, she is always warm.’_

A sudden shockwave caused her to jump in fright as the Entry Plug was rocked. Ahead of her the form of Unit 04 appeared once again, the being did not speak to her instead it just seemed to stare straight towards where Rei was seated. Rei glared back at it for a moment wondering if she should maybe attempt communicating again. There was little else that she could do right now. Attempts to bring the S2 Engine back online had proven fruitless.

Rei found that she was no longer fearful of the Angel. Instead she found that she was more curious than anything else. This was the first such entity to attempt to communicate with humans and the first to express any sort of emotion.

_‘Except for Nagisa but he was different. He was born the same way I was.’_

Her stomach growled again as she wished desperately to be anywhere but here. Her mind wandered to a few weeks ago, before Asuka and Shinji had been forced to flee the Wunder. Shinji had made dinner for the four of them. It was a nice and pleasant memory that she would often go back to. She shook it away for the moment, reminiscing about the past was going to get her nowhere. If she didn’t act now her predicament would only worsen, eventually the life support would run out and she would die alone in this place.

_‘No, I cannot allow that. I have to keep trying… It is what the others would do.’_

Rei went back through everything she had tried up until now. She had not yet attempted to bring any of the other systems of Unit 08 online knowing that her life support would be compromised if she did so. All that was left was for her to continue to try to communicate with the being.

“I am… unsure as to whether you can hear me but I wish to learn more about you. Why did you keep only myself here? If you wished for others then why not two of us?”

She looked up to see the orbs of Unit 04 glow a little bit brighter as the voice spoke to her,  _“Your co-pilot was incompatible with us. You were selected because of what you are.”_

Rei asked back, “And what did you do with her?”

_“We returned her to her people. You do not have to worry, she is safe. We wish no harm to her or the others.”_

“I see…” Rei started, a weight lifted from her shoulders. At least now she knew that Mari was safe, “I should thank you for doing that. What exactly do you mean that she is incompatible with you? Was the pilot of Unit 04 also unlike them as well?”

_“This is correct.”_

Rei was now incredibly curious. Aside from herself and Nagisa she had not seen or heard of any other beings on the planet like herself.

“In what way?” She asked.

For a time the being made no movements and no voice spoke to her, instead she felt a strange warmth was over her and there was a sudden flash of light. Rei’s surroundings were transformed in front of her eyes, she found she was no longer within the Entry Plug of Evangelion Unit 08 but now on some sort of train carriage. Out of the window in the distance she could make out a small city with a tower sporting the familiar NERV Logo.

She looked around, “W-Where am I?”

_“You were curious about us. This is your opportunity to learn about what we were in hope that you will help us.”_

“I cannot help you.” Rei reiterated as she looked around the train carriage. There was one other occupant in the carriage. A young girl in a wheelchair, the girl had silver shoulder length hair. Rei rose from her seat and stepped in front of the girl to look at her further. The girl was incredibly pale, perhaps more so than Rei. She looked remarkably frail and wore on her face a faint smile. Rei could see that she was clutching a portable music player in her hand.

“This girl… she is like me.” Rei muttered to herself as she took a step back. It seemed that the girl was unable to see or hear Rei at this time. Instead she sat listening to her music and staring straight ahead. Rei felt a strange familiarity to the girl before realizing where she had seen her before.

“This is… the pilot of Unit 04, what has happened to her? She is… like me.”

“NERV Happened, that’s what.”

Rei looked up at the sound of this new voice. She turned immediately to see another version of the girl was stood at the opposite end of the train carriage. She still had the shoulder length silver hair and red eyes but she had none of the physical frailty of the girl in the wheelchair.

Rei did not blink as she watched the girl walk forward and speak, “This is… or was me… a long time ago. Of course I wasn’t always like this.”

“NERV did this to you?” Rei inquired.

“That’s right.”

“Why?”

“To keep me alive, so that I could pilot.” She replied bitterly, “I wasn’t raised like most people. My mother died a few years after my birth. My father was taken shortly after that. We were in a car accident and it nearly took me as well. Except… well they couldn’t risk losing a pilot.”

Rei tried to think about what the appropriate response to this would be, she bowed her head, “I am… sorry to hear that.”

“Don’t be.” The girl said sounding almost angry, “They used some new experimental techniques they had gotten from a doctor who was visiting the base at the time. Someone who had just made big advances in genetics and even cloning over in Japan. She saved my life… well she kept me alive at least. Her experiments turned me into that think you see there. I couldn’t walk anymore, I couldn’t do anything really, not really a lot for a kid here anyway no other kids around… I couldn’t even go to school.”

“You are…” Rei lowered her gaze as she spoke.

“The same as you?” The girl let out a laugh, “Yes, I suppose I am. I expect the same woman that saved me probably had a hand in working on you. Except I didn’t have anyone to help me develop from that state, I never had anyone to raise or lower the dosage to keep me dulled.”

“You were kept like this… to get you to pilot.”

She nodded, “Exactly and the sad thing is I never realized it at the time. I thought that was just how things were. I was just happy to be of use to people and have a purpose in my life. I was lonely but… I was going to make other people happy by piloting Eva. That kept me happy, that kept the loneliness at bay.”

There was a pause as Rei once more looked towards the girl in the wheelchair. There was a faint smile on her lips as she clicked a button on her music player.

“This is the day that it happened.” The girl said dryly, “I was going on my way to the Unit 04 activation test. Evangelion Unit 04, fitted with an experimental S2 Engine. Gone were the days of having to plug the damn things in. I was not only going to be a pilot and help people but I was in a special Eva. I had watched you and the others in action and I was so excited. I was going to be a part of all of that. None of that happened though.”

“What happened?”

“I don’t know, it all happened so quickly. I remember hearing shouting and screaming along with the sounds of explosions. Never thing I knew I was here, floating in nothingness and that was when it came to me.”

“The Angel? It had attacked you?”

“Attacked?” She laughed, “No it didn’t attack us.”

“But the activation attempt and the entire city vanishing. That was not the Angel’s doing?”

She shook her head, “No, Leliel… saved me. It was there on that day observing but it never attacked us. The thing that attacked us was no Angel, it was man itself. Leliel knew of me, knew of my feelings of loneliness and offered to help me. Leliel saved me.”

XXX

Three agonizing hours had passed since Mari had decided to let Ritsuko work on a means to get Rei out of the Sea Of Dirac. Unfortunately as far as she could tell nothing had come of it. Mari had agreed to a full medical examination first, been poked and prodded in ways that were certainly not comfortable. She had tried hard to remember each and everything that had happened to her during the initial stages of the battle and watched and guided probes into the Dirac Sea only to see them get spat back out moments later with nothing of use on them.

Mari had even gotten to a point where she had ran out of sarcastic or amusing quips. Whilst once she might have went about in an exuberant fashion, now all she could offer was a sour expression and an urge to snap at anyone who might talk to her.

"Makinami"

Mari turned around to see Ritsuko looking towards her. To Akagi's credit she had not stopped working on trying to find a way to extract Rei since they had started. It was almost enough to make Mari believe she wanted to help.

"What is it? Have you found something?" Mari asked hopefully.

"Unfortunately not but I have something of an idea. This being is unlike anything that has been known to exist in our world. It exists in a realm of theories and ideas, unfortunately we simply don't know enough to do anything safely."

Mari frowned, "So we can't rescue her?"

"I didn't say that, I just..."

She raised an eyebrow, "We can?"

"The fact that you were returned to us and it has since returned our probes to us proves that there is some kind of intelligence at play. It could be that it hasn't returned Evangelion Unit 08 and Rei to us because it doesn't want to."

"You're saying that this Angel... is keeping them there because it wants to?"

"Perhaps, the Angels are a mystery to us. It isn't as if we nor any of them have attempted communication before. In the past they would attack us and we would respond. This case is different. This Angel has not attacked aside from to pull Unit 08 and Rei into itself."

"So what... we just persuade it to give Rei back?"

"If we can establish communications with it then yes, we persuade it to give Rei back."

"And how exactly do we do that?"

"We threaten it, return our pilot or we destroy it."

Mari felt a smirk creep to her lips, "Now that... that sounds like something Katsuragi would do!"

XXX

It seemed like complete madness. For the crew of the Wunder an Angel was just a thing to be destroyed. It was an aberration, some kind of horror that attacked them without purpose and without a goal. To try to communicate with one was something no one would have considered, until now.

Ritsuko stood overlooking Kitakami’s console, “Kitakami, you understand what it is you have to do?”

Kitakami nodded, “When you give the word… send out a standard greeting to the Angel.”

“Exactly, I want you to transmit it on all known languages, hell even use Whale-song if we have to.” Ritsuko said dryly.

Kitakami looked nervously around the darkened room feeling the weight of expectation on her shoulders. The only people here were her, Ritsuko and Mari Makinami. She could hardly believe that she was actually doing this.

A few months ago she saw Rei Ayanami as a sworn enemy, it had been hard for her to let that go and in many ways she still hadn’t. Her stance had softened towards both Ayanami and Ikari, seeing them in person had done that. It was not the same for the rest of the crew, Tama was still quite adamant in his distrust of the two of them.

“Just think Kitakami, you’re going to make history! You’re going to communicate with an Angel, isn’t that exciting?” Mari said excitedly from the other side of the room.

Kitakami bowed her head, “A-Are you both sure about this?”

Ritsuko stepped forward again placing her hand on the back of Kitakami’s seat, “Very, now Makinami prepare to extend the Wunder’s A.T. Field.”

“Gotchya!” Mari replied as she tapped away at a console of her own, “Care to remind me why we’re using the Wunder for this and not the TARKUS Units.”

Ritsuko frowned, “I have my reasons Makinami.”

“Surely we’d have more of a chance if we used our full forces!” Mari countered, “We are trying to get someone back after all.”

“I am aware of that, as I said I have my reasons.”

Ritsuko looked away from Mari wondering what it was she was doing right now. Was this really the right thing to do? Communicating with an Angel, it was something that had not even been considered before. It was something that should never be considered but it was their best chance of getting Rei back. If she could open a dialogue then maybe.

“A.T. Field is extended, I’m detecting no change in the Angel.”

“Good, Kitakami start to broadcast the messages.”

XXX

The train shook once again as the girl dashed across to the window. She turned around with a panicked look on her face. Rei sensing something was not right, stumbled forward as another shockwave hit the train.

“What… is happening?”

“The ending of us, Leliel… can no longer keep us alive. Its power is draining, do you see now Rei. This is why we need you! You who are born from similar matter as Leliel, you must join with us, you must save us.” She replied, her voice almost pleading with Rei.

Rei shook her head stepping back and feeling a sickly sensation form in the pit of her stomach. Her mouth went dry as her mind absorbed the girls’ words, “I… do not understand.”

“We are dying Rei…” She admitted, “When Leliel brought me into its core my condition caused it to undergo changes of its own. We were not aware of these changes until recently but sustain the two of us… has made it weak. Without another form it will die, we need you. We are scared, we don’t wish to die.”

The ground shook again sending both Rei and the girl to the ground. Rei screamed out in pain as the train came to a sudden halt and she was thrown like a ragdoll into one of the seats. She slowly started to climb to her feet and looked out of the window of the carriage again, the sky over the NERV skyscraper was ablaze as a multicoloured circle had formed above the tallest building.

Rei watched as the circle started to slowly expand, “What… what is happening?”

“It’s repeating the events of that day. This is what happened before Leliel came to save me.”

“Please Rei… we need you!” Her voice pleaded as she helped Rei up onto a seat.

Rei only shook her head again, her mind wandering trying to figure out what was the correct thing to do. She wondered if it would be the right thing to sacrifice herself so that this strange and unique being could go on living. She did not want to be responsible for condemning another being to death yet she did not want to leave her life behind. She couldn’t bear to think of what would happen to Mari or Shinji with her gone.

“Please… I cannot, let me go. My friends, they will…”

“Fine another way?” The girl bit back, “They see us as an enemy Rei! They tried communicating with us and failed. They’ve already condemned both us and you! Our A.T. Field has been nulled and there is an N2 Mine hurtling towards us. They are going to destroy us and you along with us!”

Rei gasped, “N-No… they would not do such a thing!”

XXX

“Maya? Makoto? What the hell is happening? Why has an N2 mine been released from the Wunder?” Ritsuko called out over the comm channel.

She turned towards Mari who was looking on horrified, “Makinami, get to a TARKUS Unit, stop that mine as best you can. Kitakami contact a security team and have them go to launch bay and find out what the hell is going on.”

Mari was nearly out of the door before Ritsuko called after her, “Mari… Be careful.”

Mari through all her fear and horror at the events unfolding, with the very real prospect of her lovers death happening still managed to shoot back a smirk, “No chance.”

Ritsuko watched as Mari exited the room and took a moment to get her thoughts in order.

_‘So they’re acting now are they… I should have seen this coming. Katsuragi would have seen this coming damnit. What have I done?”_

XXX

Rei was still in shock as she was nearly thrown to the floor again by another tremor, “N-No… they would not… an N2 Mine will…”

“In our weakened state it will destroy us but if you join with us now Rei we can stop it! We can expand out A.T. Field again and get to another place before it does any damage. Please Rei, you do not wish to die do you? You know what will happen if you do! If you remain here we can protect you!”

Rei looked up at her, “Yes! I am all too aware of what will happen to me if this body is killed. I do not wish to experience that fate again. I have no desire to end up back in his hands but I cannot give up that life I have known either. It is not an existence I desire for myself, I do not wish to live in a world where I can no longer see Mari or any of the others again.”

“With us you can see them all the time! You can relive and reshape those memories as you desire! You do not have to suffer the pain that goes along with it either Rei. We can offer you do much if you help us.”

Rei looked up outside the window as the hold in the sky was expanding further. Below it chunks of rock were starting to fly up into it. Beneath her the ground heaved even more. She knew not what to do, she didn’t want to give up her existence in that world anymore, she did not want to die either and she knew she would not be returned without agreeing to its demands. She starting wondering if perhaps there was another way.

“No…” She said, “I do not wish to exist in a false world. I do not enjoy the pain that comes with my existence. I dislike the uncertainty of it at times, I dislike feeling sad and I do not like the nerves and apprehension I feel when encountering new people. Yet I embrace those feelings because it has made me who I am.”

Rei looked up at her, “I cannot comply with your request. I do not want to not be me anymore. I have already experienced that in his hands and with you my life would be no different. I would forget what it means to be myself. If you require me to join with you then you will have to force me.”

“That is not a possibility.” She replied.

“Why not?”

“Leliel… does not wish it to be that way. If it is not what you desire then it is accepting of its fate.”

“Then why not return me?”

“We are no longer able to do that either now.”

“Why not?”

“If we were to do that then you would also die, the N2 Mine would kill you.”

Rei felt dizzy from her words and sat back down on the seat. She tried to think of another option that could save them all. It seemed to make the most sense to now join with the being but she still did not find herself wanting to do that. She could not stand the thought of leaving Mari behind. She shook her head, “May I ask… what your name is?”

“Why is that important?”

“If we are to die… then I wish to know your name.”

“Erika…” The girl said, “Erika Pearson.”

“Why did Leliel come to you?”

Erika sighed, “Leliel was born from the Second Impact but unlike the rest of its brethren it found itself with no desire to return from where it came. Instead it found itself curious as to the nature of those that roamed the Earth. The humans that had flourished on a world that was not meant for them.

“So it sought you out?”

“It sensed my feelings of loneliness at how different I was, it learned of the danger I was in and shielded me. It offered me a chance to be safe and join with it. Only I was not strong enough to sustain it. We thought that we could use you to help us but we underestimated your will to remain with them.”

“I am… sorry.”

“Don’t be. We should have been more accepting of our own fate. Humans have a limited lifespan after all and maybe my time should have been up when I had that car accident. Maybe I was only on borrowed time after all. Leliel wanted to learn about humanity and now it gets the chance to learn what it is to die. If anything we are sorry that we are bringing you with us.”

“You were desperate… but maybe there is another way.” Rei said.

“How?” Erika snapped back, “We are running out of time. The N2 mine approaches and we have picked up another of their Units but it will not be enough.”

“Leliel is the host in this relationship yes?” Rei inquired.

Erika nodded, “Yes, we exist as one being. I am merged with Leliels core and helping sustain it.”

Rei thought about the nature of Leliel. A unique being that could seemingly alter its form and the world around it to create these vast illusions. Both Erika and Leliel were one and the same perhaps there was something that could be done.

“Does Leliel always have to take this form?”

Erika shook her head, “No, it can take any form it desires. At first it wished for me to be the host but we would not have existed alone in the world for long in that form.”

Rei smiled, “Perhaps not then but now you have help. If you are the host for Leliel would that keep you alive for longer.”

“We do not know, so much damage has already been done. Perhaps a bit longer. We have no one to help us.”

“You have me.” Rei said, “Please… let me help you. Return to the world as Erika Pearson as the host. Unit 08 will be shielded from the blast and I will do what I can to save you both.”

“We cannot be saved, we are an Angel. We are the enemy of mankind.”

“Please… let me try.”

XXX

Mari was pushing the TARKUS Unit as fast as it could go, hurtling towards the guided N2 Mine. Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest as she tried to go faster fearing that it would be too late.

“Come on you piece of junk, can’t you go any faster! I’ve got a girlfriend to save here!” Mari yelled out as her hands tightened around the controls of the Unit. She was starting to gain on the mine, starting to approach it and ignoring anything else around her. She was sure she could hear a voice from the ship telling her to be careful, asking her what the situation was or even ordering her to turn around and head back.

Mari offered no reply to them, she was going to get Rei back at any cost. She was not going to give up on her.

She was so close to the mine now but unfortunately the mine was also dangerously close to the Angel. Even if Mari did get to it there was no guarantee that she wouldn’t be pulled into the being. That didn’t matter to her though. She could disrupt the flight of the mine, knock it past the being and have it explode elsewhere. If she was pulled in then logically she’d be spat out just like before.

Mari was within metres of the N2 mine now. The mine was within metres of the Angel. Mari reached out with a hand of the TARKUS Unit and then there was a flash of light. She felt her hands grip around something, the mine she hoped. With one swift movement she hurled it as far as she could across what she hoped was the landscape and away from the Angel.

She readied herself to be pulled into the Angel as time seemed to slow down around her. The light began to dissipate and pain shot through her entire body as the Unit collided with something hard. It was the ground, daze Mari slowly brought the Unit to its feet and looked around. The Angel had vanished and lying in a heap not too far from her position was the pink form of Evangelion Unit 08.

Without any hesitation Mari stumbled to her feet and staggered out of the TARKUS Unit. She gave it a quick glance as she climbed out observing that both legs and an arm had been lost on the machine. That didn’t matter, what mattered to her was the Entry Plug was had been ejected from Unit 08. Mari broke into a sprint crossing the hundred metre or so gap as fast as her legs would take her.

Her hands reached out for the door, the heat from the handle managing to get through her plugsuit. She let out a yell as her hands gripped the handle and tried to ignore the burning sensation. She grunted as she pulled at the handle trying desperately to open it. It slowly moved and then finally let her inside.

Rushing inside the plug she was surprised to see not one but two people in there. The first was Rei, clearly alive and in the front seat of the Eva. Mari felt tears forming in her eyes as she darted inside knelt beside Rei.

“Rei! Are you alright? I was so worried!”

Rei gave a small nod and leaned back in her seat, “I am… fine but… she…”

Rei gazed down and Mari did as well taking a look at the girl lying curled up on the floor of the Entry Plug, “I-Is that… the pilot of Unit 04?”

Rei confirmed it, “Yes, she requires medical aid.”

“Rei… I will…” She paused as she felt Rei’s hand grab her by the wrist. Although weakened Rei made the attempt to pull Mari towards her. Mari allowed herself to be pulled in as she came face to face with her exhausted girlfriend.

“Mari I must apologize for what happened earlier… I was… I did not even get a chance to say I love you…”

Mari felt the tears run down her face, unable to say anything back to Rei she instead opted for throwing her arms around her and embracing her tightly. She no longer cared about the arguments from before or any of the secrets Rei might have had. All she cared about was that she had Rei back.


	23. Lifting Shadows

Mari let out a loud yawn and raised her head from the soft pillow. The first thing her eyes saw was a disapproving glare from Sakura. Mari flashed her a cheeky grin, "What? These things are comfy!" 

Sakura shook her head, "They are also for patients only and made for one person to occupy!" Sakura wandered over and shooed Mari away, "Now get off! I know you want to be close to Rei but we have seats you can use!" 

"Can't sleep in chair!" Mari stuck her tongue out petulantly causing Sakura to just glare at her again. 

"Off!" Sakura commanded. 

Mari slid slowly off of the bed, "Fiiiiiiiiiine! Only because you're really scary when you're mad." 

"I am not scary!" Sakura protested, "I am only doing this so that Rei can recover quickly. I know you want to be near to her Mari but we can't have you sharing a bed with her! I need to monitor her condition!" 

"Alright I get it! I'll just hold her hand or something instead." Mari flopped down onto the seat and mock pouted. She nodded towards the other side of the room at the occupied beds there, "So what's the story with those two anyway? Didn't really get a chance to be told anything about them." 

Sakura glanced towards the resting forms of Makoto and Maya, "When they went to prepare the plan someone rigged the room with a sleeping gas. It knocked them out. I've been able to flush it out of their system and there will be no lasting damage but it's just going to take time for them to wake up." 

Mari looked shocked, "Rigged the room? Someone actually did that to them?" 

Sakura gave a worried nod, "Yeah... someone on board the ship actually set out to hurt them. Not only that but they..." 

"Would have killed Rei too." Mari snarled, "I'll kill them." 

Sakura looked up, "I'm scared Mari, if someone was able to do tha-" 

"Hey hey hey!" Mari dropped the angry glare and stood up and instantly brought Sakura into a hug, "No need to be scared. Whoever did this cle-" 

The door to the medical bay suddenly slid open and Mari immediately released Sakura from the hug on seeing the person entering the room, much to Sakura's relief. As warm and comforting as Mari's hug was, she was also gripping her a bit too tightly and also forcing her face towards Mari's assets. 

She had to admit, it did make her feel slightly better. What wasn't making her feel better was the glare that was being thrown Ritsuko's way by Mari. Sakura cleared her throat, "Captain Akagi, are you here to check up on Maya?" 

Ritsuko appeared to be looking towards Rei and was seemingly caught off guard by Sakura's question, "Oh... Yeah... well..." 

Sakura nodded, "Well I can confirm that whatever knocked them out is no longer in either of their systems. It won't have any lasting effects but it was powerful and it will take them a while to wake up." 

"Good... that's good." Ritsuko stumbled over her words. 

Mari noticing the stumble stepped forward not dropping her glare, "Why are you really here Akagi?" 

"Hmm?" Ritsuko looked across, "I was... to see Rei and the person that was brought back. I also needed to speak to you." 

Mari shook her head, "No." 

"What do you mean 'no'?" Ritsuko asked, taken aback by Mari's reply. 

"What was the last time you slept Akagi?" 

"Is that really important right now? I have-" 

"Yes it's important!" Mari retorted, "We received word about that Angel almost two days ago, Rei was trapped inside of it for at least twelve hours and it's been nearly a day since she returned. When was the last time you slept?" 

Ritsuko shrugged, "I don't know. It was before we received word on the Angel! I haven't exactly had the chance to, in case you haven't noticed Makinami, we had an Angel to stop and then numerous other things happened. Now I have to deal with the possibility of a traitor on board who has committed two acts of sabotage against the crew and resulted in two of them ending up in here. We also have the recovery of a pilot who has been considered dead for fourteen years!" 

"All the more reason for you to go and sleep!" Mari said, "We have security on board to keep us all safe. Maya, Makoto and Rei are all fine and the pilot of Unit 04 isn't going to be up and about any time soon either." 

"I need to speak with you!" 

"I refuse to talk to a Captain who can barely function." 

"I am the acting Captain of this ship! I am your superior officer!" 

Mari grinned, "Not in here you aren't. Sakura takes charge here and I know exactly what she is going to say. Piss off Ritsuko, go and get some sleep." 

"Stop it you too!" Sakura suddenly yelled out, "We have patients resting in here and I won't have either of you disrupting them." 

"I wasn't disrupting anything Makinami wa-" Ritsuko started to protest before Sakura immediately cut her off. 

"Mari is right! You are in no fit state to be captain of this ship right now. Sleep deprivation can be dangerous not only to you but to the rest of the people on this ship. It is my opinion that you should go and get rest." 

"Are you ordering me?" Ritsuko asked. 

"Yes I am." 

Ritsuko simply nodded, "Fine, I understand." 

There was no further argument put up from Ritsuko as she turned around and left the medical bay much to the surprise of both Mari and Sakura. 

"That was... a lot easier than I thought." Sakura muttered. 

Mari gave a nod, "Yeah... it's almost like she wanted that to happen. I don't think Ritsuko realized just what sort of a job Katsuragi had here and I don't think she knows how to step back either like Katsuragi did." 

"Sounds like you feel sorry for her..." 

"Not quite. I still have a lot of issues with our captain but what happened recently has been eye opening at least." 

XXX 

Rei slowly opened her eyes feeling incredibly relaxed, as if she had had one of the best night’s sleep of her life. Given the circumstances of the last fourty eight or so hours she felt a little bit surprised as how good she was feeling. As he vision came into focus she recognized immediately that she was inside the medical bay of the Wunder. 

The memories of Mari saving her were coming back to her and she sat herself up and looked across the room to see her girlfriend sat nearby. Mari seemed to be asleep, her head was down with her eyes shut and her glasses hanging off. 

Rei smiled, reaching over to pulled Mari's glasses off and place them on the little table beside her. She took hold of Mari's hand and gently rubbed her thumb along the top, "Thank you Mari." 

Mari's head suddenly jerked upwards, "Huh! WhyIonlygetonewaffleIorderedtwo..." 

Rei giggled as Mari came to her sense and looked around the room. On seeing Rei her eyes opened wider and a grin spread across her face, "BLUE! YOU'RE AWAKE!" 

Mari jumped up from the seat and dived towards Rei pulling her into a hug. Rei was jolted back and felt only the softness of Mari's breasts in her face as the brunette smothered her with affection and held her tightly. She felt the rain of kisses on her head. 

"Mmpph tmph imph tmmph! Iph cafnmph brephmh!" Rei let out the noises whilst waving her arms around. 

Mari looked down at Rei wondering what was going on, she quickly realized the predicament Rei was in and with a slightly embarrassed look let go of her and slinked back to the seat putting her glasses back on as she did so, "Sorry... didn't quite catch that there Blue!" 

Rei was slightly dazed but smiling,she toko a moment to get her breath back, "I said 'Mari this is too tight! I can't breathe!" 

"Oops... sorry, little bit too enthusiastic huh?" 

Rei shook her head and smiled, "not at all. I am just happy that you are here." 

"Well of course I'm here!" Mari grabbed Rei's hand, "I'm always going to be there." 

Rei nodded slightly, "I was worried that you might have started to dislike me because of our previous discussion and argument." 

All Rei's words did was draw a laugh from Mari, "You know a few days ago when I said you might have been influenced by Asuka too much? Well now I'm thinking you're definitely like your brother too! I could never dislike you Rei. I was mad at you yes but I love you and... well I guess I have to learn that you're going through a lot." 

Mari kissed her softly on the cheek, "I know this whole relationship thing is really new to you. I know this whole having a life thing is new to you and I kinda forgot about that because of how well things were going." 

"It was also easy for me to forget that sort of thing too. You made it easy for me to forget that I am unlike the others and I still have a lot to learn about who I am." Rei admitted, "I did not wish to hurt you though." 

"Forget about that for now okay Rei. All that matters is that we are both safe okay? We can resolve that later." 

Rei gave a nod, "That sounds agreeable. I would like you to know that I have decided... that I would like to tell you what I am able to of the discussions between myself and Akagi though. I was wrong to withhold these things from you." 

"Rei it's fine..." 

"No it isn't. I cannot tell you right now, there are certain reasons for that that you will understand when I do tell you but when the time is right. You will know." 

Mari simply kissed her again, "It doesn't matter for now Rei. Don't worry about it." 

"Okay. Can I ask how long it has been since I was rescued?" 

Mari gave a shrug, "Umm, I think it's been about a day and a half. I've kinda lost track of time to be honest with you. A few things have happened since the incident that you should know about." 

"What has happened?" Rei asked. 

Mari was about to start explaining the events since Rei was taken into the Angel but was swiftly cut off by Sakura, "No! Not yet Mari, she has just woken up. Save all of that for later, she needs to relax right now." 

"But I feel fine and I am more than capable of..." Rei started to protest. 

"Not yet you're not." Sakura cut her off, "You're been out for over a day and a half Rei and you were in that Angel for nearly a day, not to mention the stress on your body from the lead up to the operation. Both your body and mind need to rest right now. You don't need to know about what has been going on up here yet." 

Rei looked towards Sakura and opened her mouth to say something. Not having argued with someone before on such matters she turned to Mari for some sort of support. Mari simply shrugged, "I'm not going to argue with her." 

Rei lowered her eyes and muttered, "Et tu, Brute." 

Mari laughed and stuck her tongue out at Rei, "Hey she told Akagi off! I'm not standing in the way of that!" 

Rei shook her head and smiled, "No, I suppose that makes sense. I will comply with your request and rest for the moment. Can I ask you one thing though Sakura. The girl who was brought in with me, is she alright?" 

Sakura turned around and nodded towards the only other occupied bed, "Yup, she's doing fine. I have a few concerns about her condition but she should be alright. As far as I can tell she is fairly healthy and stable. She is just like you were though, sleeping it off. Akagi actually wanted to ask you a few questions about her when you woke up but it can wait. You need to be rested before you leave here." 

Rei's stomach suddenly growled loudly drawing a laugh from Mari, "Rest and fed it seems." 

Rei's face glowed a deep red, "Yes... it would seem that I am hungry..." 

Sakura smiled, "I'll arrange to have some food brought up to us from the canteen then. I imagine Mari is probably quite hungry as well." 

Mari grinned, "Starving actually." 

"I'll make us all some tea as well. First now that you're awake I need to quickly examine you to make sure everything is alright. Is that okay?" 

Rei nodded and pulled back the sheets and stood up out of the bed. Sakura drew a curtain around the area and glanced between Mari and back to Rei, "Are you alright with Mari being here for this? It isn't anything intrusive but..." 

Rei nodded, "Mari has already seen my body in its naked form on numerous occasions both like this and intimately. I have no issue with her presence." 

"O-Oh..." Sakura looked to see Mari grinning and felt herself blush realizing the meaning behind Rei's words. She tried to focus on something else as began to give Rei a quick examination. She checked the girls vitals, gave a basic head and neck examination before finally asking a few questions. 

"Are you feeling any pain or discomfort?" 

Rei shook her head, "I am not, I am experiencing some dizziness but that is about it." 

Sakura seemed satisfied that Rei was fine and stepped away, "Well you seem to be alright. Your dizziness is likely a symptom of the lack of food. I apologize for your state on waking too. We had to cut you out of your plugsuit, I know many have an issue with the gowns. Mari did bring you a fresh set of clothes for when you woke up though." 

Rei realizing Sakura was referring to the hospital gown that she had previously discarded and lack of any other clothing nodded, "It is alright, I do not mind." 

Rei quickly found and put on the clothing that Mari had brought for her. A loose fitting t-shirt, dark blue leggings and underwear. Plopped on top of the clothing was the cuddly rabbit Mari had gotten her from their last visit to Neo-London. 

“You brought me Mr Carrot!” Rei picked up and held the toy close to her chest as Mari laughed in the background. 

“Yeah, I didn’t know how long you’d be here for so I thought seeing as I wasn’t allowed to snuggle you on the bed Mr Carrot could do that job for me.” 

Rei sat herself back down on the edge of the bed holding the cuddly toy rabbit on her lap and idly playing with its paws. Mari settled in next to her putting an arm around her and snuggling into her shoulder. 

“I’m glad you’re back Rei.” 

XXX 

Shinji and Asuka watched through a window overlooking the vast airfield as a group of men surrounded the giant crate that had been brought in by a cargo helicopter. One of the men seemed to be pointing and giving instructions, the others then started to get to work on detaching the crate. 

From their position the two of them were able to make out a warning label on the crate. Further along the airfield were two more of the uniquely shaped cargo transport choppers. Each of them had also brought along a crate of a similar size. There were also large markings on each of the boxes, ‘R1’, ‘R2’ and ‘R3’. 

“Is all of this to help us locate the tower?” Shinji asked nervously. 

Asuka remained still for a few moments merely watching the display. She seemed to be deep in thought before she finally gave a quick nod, “I’d imagine so. Karim did bring us out all this say to show us something important.” 

“Whatever it is… it looks dangerous.” He replied as he gestured towards the groups on the airfield. He had noticed that each of the people were wearing an orange hazmat suit, “I wonder what is in those boxes…” 

Asuka looked around the room and frowned as she tried to look for where Karim had gone. At the moment he was unfortunately nowhere to be seen which made them unable to ask about what exactly was happening. 

Whatever it was she had to agree with Shinji. It did seem like there was some danger involved and she wished that she was within reach of Evangelion Unit 02 just in case anything should happen. That was where she felt safe, that was where she could protect Shinji. This area was quite some distance away from the Espèrer Village all the way back into the red wastelands. 

It was a much more militaristic feeling than what Shinji and Asuka had seen from Espèrer up until now. Along the perimeter of this airfield were a number of automated guns with a barbed wire fence running between them to keep any intruders out. 

At each of the corners were large sentry towers and an array of tanks and other military vehicles were on display. Enough that would have kept Shinji’s old friend Kensuke happy for days. 

Shinji couldn’t help but feel somewhat unsettled at seeing this militaristic side of Espèrer but he knew that they along with the other factions on the Earth would have this and many more bases like this. It was just another new environment for him to get used to. 

He thought back to the environments he had experienced in the months since he had awakened. Most of his time had been spent on the AAA Wunder which at first had felt strange. It was a place where everyone seemed to hate him. He knew and understood that now, he had been blamed for the Third Impact but now he knew the truth. 

The AAA Wunder had felt quite militaristic at first but after spending a bit of time there it soon felt like it was a flying city. A place that a couple of hundred people called their home. It felt not too dissimilar to the ships of old Science Fiction shows. 

He had spent some time back at NERV, not the NERV he knew but a new warped and dangerous NERV. He didn’t like to think of NERV too much now, with its run down corridors and twisted architecture. He still had bad dreams about being there, seeing the crosses sticking out of the ground, seeing the grim rotating sphere that was the moon and seeing the impossibly balanced inverted pyramid. Most of all it was about seeing Kaworu. 

Shinji had seen Neo-London. That gave off the impression of a world that was alive and getting better. Within the walls of Neo-London people shopped, ate, worked and went about their business as if the world hadn’t changed at all. It was bright and colourful and made you forget that the wastelands outside no longer existed. 

The Espèrer Village was a stark contrast, it too was not soured by the wastelands of Third Impact but instead gave off an aura of peace and calm. Within it people were all too aware of what was outside, they spoke about it and warned of the dangers but were thankful and spoke of hope for the future. Within the Espèrer Village Shinji felt that it was a group of people trying to restore the world and make it better. 

This airfield was closest to NERV than the others. It felt dangerous to be here and served as a harsh reminder of the state of the Post Third Impact world. It reminded him that there was a lot to be done to restore the world and that there was a very real threat lurking in those wastelands. 

Asuka glanced across at Shinji noticing the boy was deep in thought and worrying. She could see his eyes scanning the horizon. She couldn’t blame him for being scared right now, admittedly she was too. She disliked being away from Unit 02 like this. She hated know that if something happened she’d be powerless to help Shinji. She needed to do what she did best, she sidled up to him and took hold of his hand before smirking, “I can’t believe you’re scared of being in a place like this!” 

She hoped that Shinji wouldn’t detect the traces of shakiness in his voice or the slight tremble of her hand betraying her own fear. Thankfully he didn’t seem to. This was good, if she could get Shinji to smile then so could she. 

“I’m not scared! I just-“ Shinji began to protest before trailing off and hanging his head, “Alright, y-year… I am a little bit. It’s just seeing all of this stuff. I’ve seen military stuff before back in Tokyo-3 but I was never this close to it… I never really thought about it.” 

Asuka chuckled hoping that her words would calm not only him but herself, “There is nothing to be scared of. All of these vehicles and weapons are secure and maintained well. It’s probably scarier and more dangerous to be in an Eva than it is in here.” 

“You feel safe in Eva?” Shinji asked. 

Asuka nodded, “Most of the time. All those plates of armour, an A.T. Field and all that weaponry. Logically it’s one of the safest places to be. I know we get hurt but I’d rather risk it in an Eva than outside of one.” 

“I-I suppose…” 

“Do you not feel the same way? What about you, where do you feel safest?” 

Shinji looked up across the airfield and felt the blush spread to his cheeks, “When I’m… in your arms Asuka.” 

Asuka felt herself blush now before she poked him in the head, “Idiot!” 

Shinji smiled, “It’s true though. Eva protects me from Angels but you… protect me from everything else. Whenever I have a bad dream or whenever I feel sad or scared it’s you that helps me and not Eva.” 

She almost didn’t know what to say to that instead she settled for kissing him on the cheek and shrugging, “Well… I guess that’s just a part of being as great as I am.” 

There was a brief moment of silence as they took each other’s hand and Shinji nodded out towards the field again, “You grew up on a base like this didn’t you?” 

Asuka nodded, “NERV Germany, not quite like this though a hell of a lot bigger. It was after my father decided that he wanted nothing more to do with a problem child like me. Hell I wasn’t technically his he thought so I may as well be dumped with the potential candidates as he called them.” 

“I’m sorry to hear that.” 

“Don’t be by all accounts he was an asshole anyway. So the base commander took me in. The base was ran and maintained by a few separate crews because of its importance to the UN. Had British, American, German and French stationed there.” She explained. 

“What was that like?” Shinji asked. 

Asuka shrugged, “Pretty normal I guess for a kid who has been chosen to pilot a seventy five foot biomechanical death machine I guess. They gave me a tutor who had me placed on an advanced education program. I had an official rank on the base because of my status as an Eva pilot. It didn’t mean much, more honorary so when people said I was an Air Force Captain I was little more than a mascot. People were friendly towards me though, always saying hello and on weekend I’d go to the nearby village to do shopping.” 

“It sounds so… normal.” Shinji mused. 

“Oh yeah totally, aside from the seventy-five foot death machine, my advanced schooling, complete lack of ability to socialize with someone my age and the constant nightmares.” Asuka’s hand tightened around Shinji’s, “We all got along fine I guess but I suppose I can admit now that I was lonely. Over time that loneliness developed into a delusion that I was fine alone. Asuka Shikinami didn’t need other people around me or to like me. I was an Eva pilot and that was all I needed. I didn’t have to rely on others for what I needed. After a few years of thinking like that I started to believe it and in some ways I still do.” 

Shinji shuffled closer to her and put his arm around her pulling her closer to him, “Then I arrived in Tokyo-3 and some idiot decided to mess all of that up. Not only that but there were more of them and they thought they could just get inside my head and lead me to think I could have friends and tolerate other people around me.” 

Shinji felt himself smile, “I’m glad we helped.” 

“Help? Are you kidding me? It was horrible!” She laughed, “Convincing myself that I was all I had and all I needed and then having these thoughts of, maybe it’s fine to be around others and have friends? It wounded me at first! I have a lot of pride you know!” 

She paused, “Still… I learned eventually that being around others and relying on them… it isn’t so bad. In small doses.” 

The two of them suddenly turned to face one another and look deep into each other’s eyes. Shinji could feel those familiar butterflies in his stomach as he looked at Asuka, he never stopped feeling those when he looked at her like this. It was a nice sensation, almost like he was floating and like they were the only two people in the world right now. 

Asuka stared deep into Shinji’s eyes remembering all she had been through to get him back. All the heartache of the attempts to recover him. Those desperate few days when he had fled to NERV and all the incidents since their return. 

Both of them moved closer to each other caught up in the moment before they were interrupted by a yell, “Asuka! Shinji!” 

Asuka groaned and shrugged, “When we get back to the village? We can do a bit more then too.” 

Shinji nodded, “Okay.” 

Karim approached the two of them, he was dressed in a dark blue uniform with a gold trim outlining the shoulders and cuffs of his jacket. Positioned on the top right of the jacket was the now familiar logo of Espèrer, a flock of doves positioned above the name of the group. It seemed odd to see him in such a formal uniform but appropriate given their location. 

Karim nodded towards the airfield, “Sorry for the lack of explanation but what we’re doing here is incredibly delicate. It took a lot of convincing but we were finally able to procure the equipment we needed to move forward. It is out hope that in the next day or so we will have the answers we need.” 

“Umm… Karim, what exactly is in those crates?” Shinji asked. 

Karim took a deep breath and stepped forward, “Something incredibly dangerous but possibly the key to unlocking the mysteries of the necklace. Those crates contain the various parts of the Regular System.” 

“You mean the device you used for terraforming?” Shinji exclaimed. 

Asuka followed up with her own question afterwards, “How exactly is that going to help us with the necklace?” 

“We aren’t entirely sure yet but not too long after your arrival we received another code transmission from Katsuragi. It was a delayed transmission set to send a few days after you arrived and it contained one word, ‘Genesis.’” 

“Genesis?” Shinji exclaimed, “Wait isn’t that the band you like Asuka?” 

Asuka slapped Shinji on the top of the head playfully, “Idiot! I don’t think she meant that Genesis, hardly going to invite Phil Collins along to sing to the necklace. It was the codename for the Regula System wasn’t it?” 

Karim smiled and nodded, “Indeed it was. The Regula System was thought to have the ability to bring about a new Genesis for mankind. A new beginning and recreate the paradise that we lost. Unfortunately you both know of the issues we had.” 

The two of them nodded grimly, “Yeah… we remember.” 

“Our idea, strange that it may seem is to use the device on the necklace. The Regular System works on restoring things to their previous state. That necklace is an artefact found in the same location as the Dead Sea Scrolls. Like many artefacts found there it will also have unique properties and is likely to have changed over time.” Karim explained. 

“So you think that it’ll give us the location or the tower?” Asuka asked. 

“I hope so.” 

XXX 

Mari wore a deep frown as the two of them approached the door of Ritsuko's quarters. The grabbed hold of Rei and pulled her to a halt before Rei could tap on the buzzer. Mari shook her head, "Rei are you sure about this? It's hasn't even been a full day yet since you woke up. Akagi can wait surely?" 

Rei shook her head in response, "I am sure. There are things that I have to do that cannot wait. I have to tell her about the pilot of Unit 04 and I need her in order to tell you certain things." 

"I'm just concerned Rei." Mari put an arm on Rei's shoulder, "You just got back from being in that Angel and you're already thinking about stuff like this. I know I was mad at you before but what you have to tell me can wait." 

"I appreciate your concern but it is best that this is done now. I don't know how much time there is left for me to tell you." 

Mari looked nervously at the door and then back to Rei, "As long as you are alright with this then. I won't accept anything happening that could hurt or upset you Rei. I'm not going to risk losing you again." 

Rei leaned in to kiss Mari on the lips, "Thank you. That means a lot to me." 

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather just go back to our quarters for about... an hour or so for a quick fu-" Mari grinned as Rei pushed her away playfully. 

"I would like nothing more than to do that with you right now but I do not wish to put this off any longer. I promise when we are done here you can have me for as long as you want." 

Mari grinned even more, "I like that promise, let's get this over and done with then. See what Ritsuko summoned us here for eh? Come on then." 

Mari skipped forward and tapped the buzzer. There was a brief pause before the door slid open and the two of them stepped inside Ritsuko's quarters. It was very much like they were expecting. Minimalist with very little in the way of colour. There was a television situated in front of a couch, a couple of bookcases and an array of cat ornaments. 

Towards the kitchen area was a cat basket and the sleeping form of Spot within it. Littered around the basket were cat toys, a litter tray and bowls for food and water. Mari looked around and saw a few photos on the walls of Ritsuko and Maya together. Finally her eyes settled on the form of Ritsuko stood smoking a cigarette by one of the windows. Ritsuko noticed the two of them had entered and immediately stubbed the cigarette out. 

"You do realize that's against regulations right?" Mari stated snarkily. 

Ritsuko offered a slight smirk in response, "One of my few vices. The smoking area on this ship is too far away and I'm not in the mood to encounter other people right now." 

"Fair enough." Mari shrugged before flopping herself down onto a couch, "So why did you summon us. You do realize Rei only woke up a few hours ago right?" 

Ritsuko shot a concerned glance in Rei's direction, "I am aware Mari. Rei how are you feeling?" 

"I am feeling okay. Miss Suzahara insisted that I not leave the medical bay until I was in an appropriate condition to do so." 

"I'm glad to hear it." 

Mari snorted, "Sure." 

Ritsuko turned away from the two of them and sighed, "Makinami, I understand your distrust of me, I admit I haven't exactly done much to alleviate any of that. I have my reasons for the actions I have taken up until this point. I would hope that maybe I can start to explain some of that here. I made a promise to you in exchange for your help earlier. I intend to fulfill that promise." 

Mari simply stared back at Ritsuko not knowing whether to believe her or not. In the back of her mind the conversation she heard days before played through her head as did all of the information she had gathered so far. 

Mari knew things about Ritsuko that no one else did. She knew that Ritsuko had a hand in Rei's development. She knew how high Ritsuko was in the chain of command at NERV and she knew that Ritsuko had been in contact with others at WILLE recently. She had heard the references to this mysterious 'him' that was watching. 

Not only that but she also knew that Ritsuko's mother was at the same base as Mari's when she was killed. She was present for the activation test of Asuka's mother and also present for Yui Ikari's activation test too. 

Ritsuko continued to speak, "I've asked you both here to discuss those things, in addition we also need to discuss the events surrounding the last Angel, both on board the Wunder and what happened to Rei inside the Angel." 

"So it's just a debriefing then?" Mari replied, "Except instead of it being in the ready room with others we're doing it here. Can I ask why here of all places?" 

Ritsuko nodded and fixed her eyes on Mari, "As you are well aware by now Makinami it is possible to bug my old office and the ships ready room. I needed to do this privately without the chance of any prying eyes or ears. It seems that you are not the only one on board with a penchant for listening in to private communications." 

Rei wandered over and sat down next to Mari, “Do you know if they are aware of our plans yet?” 

Ritsuko shook her head, “I don’t know yet, I haven’t been able to confirm exactly what they know yet. All I know is that they are onboard and have been operating for a short while. I managed to find evidence of their present when we were preparing to contact the Angel.” 

“They heard us? So they were the ones that released the N2 mine.” 

Ritsuko nodded her head, “Yes. I’ve known about them being on board for some time, because they are working with NERV I have informed Rei of their presence and of the danger to her.” 

Mari was shocked, “This… is what you couldn’t tell me? You were in danger and hid that from me?” 

“I… wanted to tell you but I felt that if you also knew then one of two things would happen. I wanted to protect you.” 

Before Mari could protest Ritsuko quickly jumped in, “Think about it from Rei’s perspective Makinami before you say something. To Rei there were two possible outcomes, she tells you and you take it upon yourself to seek out this person. Which you are likely to do, you’ve already been through the archives of this ship as well as paid Katsuragi several secret visits. This would only put you in danger.” 

“Yes but…” 

“The other option was that you didn’t take action but the person is watching Rei closely anyway and finds out you know. They could have used that to their advantage.” 

Mari opened her mouth and closed it again before lowering her eyes. Ritsuko carried on speaking, “You are a reckless individual Makinami. You have good intentions but have a tendency to act first and think later. You are also guided by your emotions, it would not be unlike you to act out-“ 

“Alright I get it Mr Spock, I understand.” Mari spoke back, “I get the point. So I’m reckless and don’t think at times. I just…” 

Rei took Mari’s hand into her own, “It is for those reasons I was drawn to you first and they are part of the reason I fell in love with you. Only I did not know how you would react to that news and did not want you to be hurt. I apologize for hurting your feelings.” 

Mari smiled, “Its fine Rei, I do understand. You were right I probably would have tried to do something about it if you had just told me. You are sure we are safe in here though?” 

Ritsuko nodded, “Quite sure, only myself and Maya have access to this room therefore there is no chance of anything having been tampered with.” 

“I assume then that there is some sort of plan for dealing with them?” 

“Not yet but I wanted you involved going forward. Especially since I made a promise to you for helping with Rei. I intend to keep those promises. That is of course if Rei agrees to it.” 

Rei looked up, “What was the nature of the promise?” 

“I wanted to know about this mystery location we were going to.” Mari stated. 

“I see.” Rei found her eyes being drawn to the sleeping form of Spot and she watched it for a few moments as she got her thoughts in order. Mari now knew the same thing she did about the person on board but the next part was going to be more complicated. She had no idea how Mari was going to react to it. 

After taking some time to think about it she decided to just come out with it, “We are going to the place of my birth. There is something I have to do there, something… personal that I do not wish to talk about but I ask that you trust and believe in me for when that time comes.” 

Mari just nodded and grabbed hold of Rei’s hand, “Always Rei.” 

Mari felt her stomach drop after hearing Rei’s words but she could see just how much Rei was struggling at the moment so decided to move the subject along. Discussion about this could wait. Mari had her answers, they weren’t exactly what she wanted to hear but she would have to accept that. As was her way she could store it up and let it out later. Only this time she’d do a better job of letting it out, this time she had a reason for doing it like this. 

Ritsuko sensing the desire for the two of them to move on finally spoke again, “We can discuss this sort of thing later. We are not due at the complex for another few days. I will warn you, no one else is aware of the nature of the facility. The crew believe it to be an abandoned SEELE complex.” 

“I presume the people who sent us know the truth… the ‘he’ you both referred to for instance?”  

Rei nodded, “Yes, it would seem that… he has some hold on WILLE.” 

Ritsuko spoke up again, “That is not for us to concern ourselves with right now.” 

“But he…” 

“There is little we can do at this moment in time Makinami.” Ritsuko sighed, “We should focus on what we have in front of us. I am also interested in the identity of the girl lying in our medical bay. I presume she is the pilot of Evangelion Unit 04?” 

Rei quickly snapped to attention having been distracted by Spot waking up and starting to wander around the room, “That is correct, her name is Erika Pearson.” 

Mari turned to face Rei, “So what, the Angel was keeping her imprisoned there or something along with you? How were you able to break free of it? I was kinda expecting you to burst out from it or something a bit bloodier.” 

“It is… complicated.” Rei muttered as she tried to explain, “The Angel is unlike the others we have encountered. It is able to communicate and both it and Erika shared what I believe to be a symbiotic relationship. They are of one mind and body, sharing each other’s thoughts and experiences.” 

Ritsuko raised her eyebrows in surprised, “You mean both the Angel and Erika are one being?” 

Rei gave a nod, “That is correct. The Angel, known as Leliel appeared to Erike during the activation test for Unit 04. It protected her from the danger of the S2 Engine activation and kept her safe and alive all this time.” 

“So she is an Angel?” Mari almost stood up in shock but she managed to restrain herself, “There is an actual Angel on board?” 

“Yes.” Rei said calmly. 

“This just got more complicated.” Ritsuko said, “This really got more complicated, I hope you know that Rei.” 

“For once I actually agree with her! I mean those things keep on appearing and trying to kill us!” Mari added. 

Rei felt hurt by the comments from the two of them. She looked between the two of them stumbling over her own words, “I… apologize… I did not… I was… I do not think it wishes us any harm.” 

“Rei! That thing captured you and held you there against your will!” Mari exclaimed. 

“I know but it was trying to protect itself. It was dying and hoped that I might join with it in order to prolong its life.” Rei explained, “When I refused it did not try to force me. It did not expect my refusal, it misunderstood who I was.” 

“Whether it misunderstood or not that thing tried to hurt us! You nearly died Rei!” 

“As did we all when Shinji was taken to NERV.” Ritsuko suddenly said halting Mari’s outburst, “We all nearly died when Shinji almost initiated a Fourth Impact but we gave him a second chance. Rei herself came from NERV and we gave her a second chance.” 

This time Mari did stand up, “No! Don’t you dare compare the two things! That thing… is an Angel! It tried to hurt Rei you cannot…” 

Ritsuko interrupted her again, “I am aware of how it sounds Makinami and I am more than aware of the potential consequences here. Yet I am not going to ignore what Rei is telling me. I am not willing to make the mistake of condemning someone before they have been given a chance to speak for themselves.” 

Rei was still looking down, her eyes watery with tears, “I am sorry for causing complications. I thought I was doing the right thing.” 

Seeing her girlfriend on the brink of tears brought Mari down from her angered state. She sat herself back down and put an arm around Rei and sighed, “I guess… you did. If you say it’s fine then I’ll trust you but I’m not going to trust it so easily. I almost lost you Rei.” 

“You almost lost be because of the actions of someone on board this ship. It was another human and not the Angel.” Rei countered. 

“Rei is right. I am not entirely happy with this situation either but we will find a way to deal with it.” Ritsuko said, “For now as with the other things we keep this between the three of us. No one else needs to know about Erika’s unique situation.” 

“Thank you.” 

"Alright fine." Mari finally conceded, "I guess... I can agree to that. I'm keeping a close eye on her though." 

"There was something else..." Rei continued, "Erika's condition before she was taken into the Angel was not good." 

Ritsuko folded her arms, "What do you mean?" 

"When I met them they shown me a vision of how she was before the event. Erika was in a wheel chair having been in a car accident years before. She explained that she should have died but she was saved by a Doctor using some sort of experimental technique." Rei explained. 

There was a pause before she continued, "It was these experiments that rendered her appearance similar to mine." 

"You mean the whole silvery hair, pale skin thing isn't because of the Angel?" Mari asked. 

"No... She said a Doctor at the time did that to her." Rei now fixed her gaze on Ritsuko. "Do you know anyone who might have been responsible for this?" 

Ritsuko sighed and contemplated reaching for another cigarette, "Yes... I can think of one." 

"Who?" Mari asked. 

"My mother." 

XXX 

 _“The Angel is unlike the others we have encountered. It is able to communicate and both it and Erika shared what I believe to be a symbiotic relationship. They are of one mind and body, sharing each other’s thoughts and experiences.”_  

They listened keenly to the voices of the three occupants of the room keenly smirking as they did so. This was certainly an interesting turn of events. Ikari would surely be interested in learning about this. More importantly was the fact that Mari now knew the truth about the facility. They would also have to report this to Ikari. They anticipated no major changes to their plans. If anything Mari would just be another loose end for them to tie up when it came to what they had to do. 

They continued to listen to the conversation taking note of just what to should report back to Ikari and Barclay. It seemed that their identity had not yet been compromised but after the stunt with the N2 mine they would have to be careful. Akagi would have security stepped up making it more difficult to them to move around and contact their masters. 

There was not long left to go now though. It wouldn’t be long till they reached the facilty and then the plan would be executed. 

XXX 

 _'We are... alive?'_  

The voice spoke again echoing through Erika's head and sounding less confused and more satisfied this time,  _'We are... still alive and we are... safe!'_  

Erika felt a warm glow within her as the happiness from Leliel spread through her body. She felt herself smile as she slowly opened her eyes to find herself staring straight up into a dim overhead light, surrounding it was a dull gray ceiling. It was an unfamiliar location and as she turned her head she found herself to be in some sort of medical facility. She was surrounded by a small number of other unoccupied beds. 

On the far side of the room was a young girl who didn't seem to be too much older in appearance than Erika was. The girl seemed to be humming happily to herself and Erika felt there was something familiar about her. She felt like she had seen this girl before with her long brown hair, blue scarf, black beret and white apron like garment around her front. 

 _'Have... we seen her before? We have haven't we?'_ There was another glow within her body followed by a sudden image of Rei Ayanami. Erika remembered where she had seen this girl before,  _'She is the medical officer here. She has helped Rei.'_  

Erika started to make an attempt to sit up and maybe get off of the bed. On making the attempt to move she found that her legs were not responding in any way. Her upper body seemed to be fine but she couldn't feel anything below her waist. 

Panicked she waited for Leliel to say something. There was another feeling running through her body and she understood immediately. A sad smile crossed her lips,  _'So this is the price we pay for returning to this state. For you now living within me. We are alive but we must live like this.'_  

Instead of making a futile attempt to move her legs again Erika decided to try to prop herself up with her arms and sit up that way. She brought her arms behind her and started pushing upwards but her tired body was still weak. She got halfway through the attempt before one of her arms gave out. Her pillow shot out from under her knocking a small tray from the bedside table onto the floor. 

Instantly the medical officer turned around and recognized the struggle Erika was having. She quickly made herself over to the bed and helped Erika up into a sitting position and placed the pillow behind her back. 

"You're awake! Oh I'll have to tell Rei, she wanted to be told as soon as you woke up!" 

Erika looked up at the smiling girl, "R-Rei is here?" 

The girl nodded, "Yup, she brought you back here with her from that Angel attack. I'm Sakura, Sakura Suzahara. I'm the ships medical officer so you'll probably be seeing quite a lot of me whilst you recover." 

"We ar-" Erika quickly stopped herself recognizing that using 'We' would probably not be the best way of introducing herself. Whilst it was still true that she and Leliel were existing as one being others would likely not understand this complex relationship. Erika was the host and Leliel existed within her. Leliel would not act for Erika but would be there to offer advice and support if she needed it. 

"I am... Erika, Erika Pearson. I am... well was the pilot of Evangelion Unit 04." 

Leliels presence within her reacted with a warm glow indicating that it approved of her actions. Erika felt Sakura's curious eyes on her for a moment. She wondered how much Sakura knew about her, if anything at all. She was still alive so that meant either they were accepting of things or Rei had simply not said anything yet. 

"So how are you feeling?" Sakura asked, breaking the silence. 

"I am feeling a little bit disorientated to be honest." Erika admitted, "Were exactly am I?" 

"Oh of course, sorry." Sakura bowed, "You are on board the AAA Wunder, the flagship of WILLE and our acting Captain is Ritsuko Akagi who I'm sure you'll be meeting soon. Aside from that I would advise not worrying too much about things and focus on your recovery." 

"Y-Yes of course." 

"Don't worry though, we are all here for you. Rei was really worried about you and anything you need from me just ask." 

"I will... thank you." Erika smiled at her. 

"I suppose I should ask but... do you remember anything of what happened to you? Before you woke up here?" 

Erika glanced at her and took a moment to think about what she should or shouldn't tell Sakura. The girl gave off a vibe that she could be trusted. She seemed nice and friendly but she knew little about her aside from her being a friend of Rei's. In fact for the moment everything hinged on seeing Rei again to find out what the situation was. 

 _'You are... you are still with me right? I can still talk to you if I need to?'_ Erika asked Leliel. 

There was a pause before another warm glow spread through her body and words were placed into her mind. She could hear that voice again, the warm motherly voice that had kept her company for all this time,  _'Always... I have been weakened by what has happened but we are still one. We will experience this life together as we always have. In fact now we will experience reality._ ' 

Erika felt herself smile,  _'Thank you'_  

Erika finally turned towards Sakura and shook her head, "Not... much. I was in my Evangelion and they were about to start the activation sequence. The lights went out and there was a lot of yelling and screaming. They said something had happened with the S2 Engine and there was a flash of light. Next thing I knew I woke up here." 

Erika studied Sakura's face to see if there was any trace that she knew more. There didn't seem to be as Sakura's smile dropped and she just wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "Erika... I don’t know how to tell you this but... that was fourteen years ago." 

A chill ran down Erika's spine. The passage of time had not been a mystery to her. She had known how many years had passed since her and Leliel became one but hearing someone say it like that put things in perspective. 

Within those worlds she had created in the safety of Leliel it had not felt like that amount of time had passed. The worlds she had made were dream scenarios where she could walk, run and be free. Where had had family and friends and wasn't alone. Now she was aware of the real world again and her place in it. She could no longer retreat to the fantasies. She had to face this new and strange reality. 

She felt a tear slowly trickle down her cheek as Sakura held her, "It's alright Erika... we're all here to support you in any way we can. I know it seems tough but you're not the first one to go through this. Anything you need just ask." 

Erika nodded and tried to move her legs again only to feel a sense of frustration at her inability to do so. Fourteen years she had had the usage of them thanks to Leliel and now that was gone. She looked towards Sakura, “A… wheelchair please. My legs… they don’t work. It was an accident many years ago, me and my father and I was injured.” 

Sakura stood up and nodded, “O-Oh… I’ll make sure you have what you need then. I’ll see if Rei is available too. She was really concerned about you.” 

XXX 

“Your mother?” Mari’s arm flailed outwards nearly catching Rei in the face, “Y-You mean… the reason she is like that is because of your mother?” 

Ritsuko grabbed a cigarette from the packet and lit it nodding grimly, “Unfortunately I fear that might be the case. I cannot be certain without some additional digging but it lines up with what you have told me and when I know her to be in America. I suppose this is a good time to follow through on my promise to you. You asked about my mother didn’t you Mari?” 

Mari fixed her with a stare, “Yes.” 

“And was there anything that prompted this?” 

Mari nodded, “I found out she was in the same facility as my mother when she was killed. She was also there when Asuka’s mother was killed. She was high in the chain of command at NERV just like you were.” 

“Yes, as much as her records were destroyed by Gendo at the time of her death little things did remain. I don’t quite know the extent of it myself but she had her hands in many places in NERV.” Ritsuko gestured towards Rei, “She was also responsible in part for your care before I arrived.” 

Rei looked up, “I… think I remember her. I was not aware that she was your mother. She never told me her name, all I can remember is that I did not like her.” 

Rei suddenly looked embarrassed by her last few words and averted her eyes, “Sorry, I did not mean to insult your mother.” 

“Don’t be sorry.” Ritsuko said with a nonchalant shrug, “My mother was a deeply unpleasant woman.” 

“Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” Mari quipped. 

“Whatever you think of me Mari, my mother was a far worse person.” Ritsuko replied, “My mother, as I said, had a hand in a number of parts of NERV. She was probably the most important figure within the organization next to Gendo Ikari and Kozo Fuyutsuki. My mother developed the Magi Systems that were used throughout the facility. She was part of the team developing the Entry Plug and Evangelion activation systems. She even had a hand in the development of the Ayanami Series.” 

Mari shot Rei a glance and squeezed her hand, “Rei did you know this?” 

Rei shook her head, “I did not… I always thought that it was Gendo Ikari who was responsible for my creation.” 

“He and Fuyutsuki did the majority of the work but my mother’s expertise in certain fields proved useful. She was able to keep your body stable and ensure that the soul fragments that were extracted from within Unit 01 remained within you.” Ritsuko explained, “I was selected to continue that work because I was one of the few people capable of understanding and continuing her work.” 

“I see.” Rei said, “I was not aware of any of this. I am happy that I now know a little bit more of my birth.” 

Mari slid her hand on top of Rei’s but kept her eyes focused on Ritsuko the whole time. Gone was the stern emotionless woman that she had gotten so used to seeing all this time. It felt like the mask was slipping away from Ritsuko. She looked worried, tired and distraught at what she was saying. Yet at the same time there was a sense of relief from her.  

Mari wanted to ask more but didn’t know what to say. Her mind was ablaze at hearing just this little section of the truth. She knew she was close to uncovering more and in getting close a feeling of dread came over her. She had been waiting years for a moment like this and now she didn’t know if she could truly face it. 

It was Rei who broke the silence, “Were you aware of me before you arrived at NERV.” 

“No I wasn’t. I was aware that several huge advances were being made at NERV in fields such as cloning and my mother’s MAGI system but the full extent of it was not revealed to me until I arrived.” Ritsuko responded, “In truth I hadn’t even thought about joining NERV until Fuyutsuki approached me on the day of my mother’s funeral. That was probably the closest I had been to her in years. We had communicated by e-mail over the years but I didn’t care to see her in person.” 

Mari was now curious, Ritsuko was generally considered a private person. Many felt that if it wasn’t because of how obvious it was and Maya no one would even know the two of them were a couple. Anything to do with Ritsuko’s background was completely unknown, “What did she do that was so bad?” 

“No one incident really. Our relationship towards the end was amicable but our past was littered with bad decisions and a number of arguments. Our being apart was for the best. My mother was a brilliant scientist but a poor mother, it was something she was just not destined for.” Ritsuko paused to take a drag from her cigarette before smirking, “Maya is going to kill me for this. I was supposed to be cutting down. Anyway, when I arrived at NERV I was granted access to her records, logs and diaries. I was naturally quite curious and started to dig into things. I found why she died.” 

“Why?” 

“Officially it was said that the stress of the job got to her and she took her own life. She did take her own life but it was not the stress of the job that got to her, it was the knowledge that no matter what she had she couldn’t get the one thing she really desired. Gendo Ikari. It was his rejection and manipulation that drove her to it.” 

“Y-Your mother wanted… Gendo Ikari?” That’s…” Mari started. 

“…quite disgusting.” Rei concluded. 

Ritsuko shrugged, “Gendo had power and the potential to run the world. My mother desired that power and him. She always desired him, was always jealous of his relationship with Yui Ikari and then of the bond he had with you Rei. You won’t remember this because it was wiped from your memory but she attacked you at one point. It was his rejection of her afterwards that led to her taking her own life.” 

Rei reached up instinctively with her hands to her throat, “I… do not remember.” 

“It is perhaps for the best. So she realized there and then that she was little more than a loose end to him. She was nothing to him except for something to use and be discarded as he wished. She knew too much and needed replacing. Gendo had her replaced with me. I was capable of fulfilling the same roles she did only without the baggage and blood on my hands. He even thought I was going to fulfil his other desires.” 

Mari couldn’t the disgust from her face, “You… didn’t?” 

“No I did not. I refused him and no further approaches were made when he realized that I’m not into men.” 

“Fair enough.” Mari frowned, “So… what did you mean by blood on her hands?” 

Ritsuko sighed, “It’s something I’ve never been able to confirm. I’ve never wanted to confirm it in case it was true. I never really wanted to think about it but her willingness to do anything for Gendo Ikari and the way it ended means it most likely is true. You’ve already uncovered most of it Mari.” 

Mari nodded, “She was present at the facilities for each of our mother’s deaths. Mine… Asuka’s and Shinji’s but… Asuka and Shinji’s were accidents right? I knew my mother was murdered because she learned too much and wanted out but…” 

“They weren’t accidents. They needed souls inside the Eva’s that the chosen pilots could synchronize with when the time was right. Yui was first… I don’t think it was expected that it would happen that way but when they found out what had happened and was needed the same thing was repeated for Asuka’s mother and then for yours.” 

Mari felt her heart start to race and a wave of dizziness pass over her. Finding out about the souls of Yui, Kyoko and even her own mother within their respective Eva's was not new to her. Kaji had confirmed as much to her a long time ago but the knowledge of who was responsible had never been there. Especially when it came to her own mother. 

Mari opened her mouth to speak but her throat immediately dried up. She closed her mouth again and started to feel sick. 

"I know very little of that time frame. I never asked, the less I knew the better my chances were of staying alive. I knew as soon as I saw my mother's files and what Rei was my time could be shortened significantly. Knowing too much would put me at risk." 

Mari shook her head, "Y-You are certain it was her..." 

Ritsuko nodded grimly, "She didn't act alone. Gendo Ikari gave the order and a small team executed it. I know little of the details. I know Asuka's mother was a willing participant in the tests but your mother... not so much." 

Mari let out a small laugh, "No... she... was trying to escape. She was trying to contact the IPEA, Kaji told me but they... caught her." 

"I didn't know that but it does make a few things clearer for me now. From what I understand after that incident the IPEA started their own research program into developing Evangelion based technology and certain parts of the UN put NERV under more scrutiny." Ritsuko replied, "She... was at least successful in some ways." 

Rei looked up, "What about the others who were part of it, you said she didn't act alone?" 

"They're all dead now. All eliminated one after the other for knowing too much. That was what he did, when you were no longer useful you were discarded. Eventually... that would have happened to me." 

Rei placed a hand on Mari's back rubbing it gently. She didn't quite know how to process the news and wished that Shinji and Asuka were here. They'd know what to do. 

"Fortunately for me and perhaps not for the rest of the world Third Impact happened. At that point I was already questioning who I was and what I should be doing but that... changed things for me. I joined with Misato and WILLE. Passing information to the UN... that which I could." 

"Except for the anything about me?" Rei asked. 

"Except for that and how high up in the chain of command I was. I thought that if I told people that... I wouldn't be trusted anymore. That I'd lose what little comfort I had in the world. Unfortunately the truth always has a way of coming out." 

"A-All... of them dead?" Mari muttered under her breath. 

"Huh?" Ritsuko looked across at her. 

"All of the people involved in my mother's death... they're all dead now? He had them killed?" She asked, her body trembling and tears running down her face. Rei pulled her closer. 

"Yes." Ritsuko replied darkly, "They were loose ends to him. I'm sorry Mari... I'm sorry for what happened and for you having to find out this way. I'm sorry for what my mother did to you. You should have known the truth sooner." 

Mari wanted to say something again but all she could do was let a sob escape her as she collapsed into Rei's arms. Rei just held her allowing her to cry her heart out. 


	24. Panic Station

Kozo Fuyutsuki stood, as he tended to nowadays, silently by the large window that looked out across the skyline of Neo-London. He was wishing for a moment that he was out there, amongst its people living a somewhat normal and oblivious life. Away from this office and the sins he had committed. More importantly away from Director Barclay and more of his complaints.

The arrogant Director had come to visit them yet again after hearing of more of Gendo Ikari's plans and machinations. He should really have known it was going to be like this. This was what Gendo had promised and how he had always operated. Yet Barclay wouldn't accept that, he was here again to express his doubts and fears of their plans. He was fearful that things were going to somehow go wrong and that would somehow reflect poorly on him.

Fuyutsuki did feel that perhaps maybe this time a little bit of fear was warranted. Their contact onboard the Wunder had sent across another recorded conversation and it had caused Barclay great concern. Barclay was also under the impression that there were those within WILLEs committee that were suspicious of him and even working against him.

Much like the other times when Barclay had come here to express his doubts and fears Fuyutsuki expected that this would end up exactly the same. Gendo would say a few words, placate the man and send him away happy. He'd explain just enough to make sure Barclay could rest easy.

"Director Barclay." Gendo greeted him with a cold smile, his visor'd gaze turning towards the man, "I understand you have some concerns regarding the recent transmissions?"

Barclay's demeanor dropped when he saw Gendo looking towards him. This was how the man was now and it was how many others had been. Fuyutsuki had seen it a number of times. People would approach Gendo in a certain way but then drop the look, they would get intimidated by him. The man shifted nervously on the spot, "Yes I have a few. I understand that certain... decisions have been made without you consulting me first!"

"You are of course referring to the N2 Mine being released?" Gendo nodded, "That was not an order given by myself but instead an action taken by our agent. An opportunity presented itself to them which unfortunately they were unable to capitalize on."

"I thought they weren't going to act until they reached the facility?" Barclay spoke back.

"They were ordered to carry out two instructions. The first of which is not dependent on reaching the facility. Only the second part of it is. Personally I think they were correct in their actions. It is only through a miracle that she survived."

Barclay shook his head, "I still... I don't understand why we even need to eliminate her in the first place! If you have more of them waiting couldn't we have just travelled there ourselves and activated one?"

Fuyutsuki stepped towards the desk and fixed his gaze on Barclay, "As has been explained before Director, we are simply unable to have more than one active member of the Ayanami Series active at any one time. Her soul is already fractured from the portion of Yui Ikari left behind within Unit 01. To fracture it any further would have disastrous consequences."

Gendo nodded firmly, "Indeed. It is not an action I wish to take but it is necessary. We need to eliminate the current host body, it has been compromised by her experiences onboard the Wunder. Akagi and the others caught us by surprised by welcoming her and giving her an opportunity to learn and grow from her intended purpose. Therefore she is no longer fit to serve our needs."

"Well if it's the same soul won’t the new one be the same? It'll be her experiences and memories? The same Rei Ayanami?"

Fuyutsuki shook his head, "Not quite. The process of transferring the soul to a new body is not a perfect one so there will be a period of adjustment for her to her new surroundings. In addition having a new vessel allows us to perform some alterations."

"Alterations?" Barclay almost yelled as he looked towards Fuyutsuki, "What sort of alterations?"

"Alterations to ensure she remains loyal to us. We want to prevent something like what has happened to the current model happening to the new one." Gendo started to explain, "It is no different to the same procedures we performed on my son to ensure he lost the memories of his mother's disappearance."

"You mean brainwashing?" Barclay said, "So why not just have our agent bring the current one back?"

If Gendo was in any way frustrated by Barclay’s line of questioning he was no showing it. Instead he took the time to calmly explain each of his decisions in order to satiate the WILLE Director, "If we did that then the crew would look for her. It then gives them more of a reason to look for us. Whilst we are able to hide now both Akagi and Makinami are intelligent people. They would discover what has happened."

Gendo paused for a moment, "If she dies then they have no reason to look for her. It makes us hiding and doing what we need to easier. We can shift the blame onto another group and ensure we accomplish our goals."

"Speaking of our goals, the Tower... where is it?"

"We do not know." Gendo replied casually.

"How can we not know yet? I thought we had people everywhere? Do you mean to say we have lost track of your son and the Espèrer group?"

Gendo shrugged, "It was not important to keep track of them. When they locate the tower we will all know of it. Wasting resources on small details was simply not necessary."

Barclay looked between the pair of them in astonishment before hanging his head, "Well... I hope you're right Ikari. I'm trusting you on this and I expect results."

"Do not worry Director, the time for the new world to rise is soon."

XXX

Mari slowly opened her eyes and much to her surprise found herself waking up in her and Rei’s bed. Snuggled in her arms was Rei’s ‘Mr Carrot’ stuffed toy, she released the rabbit from her grip and gave it a small smile before rolling onto her back and sitting up. She reached over to the small side table and grabbed her glasses.

The memories of last night were slowly coming back to her. They were accompanied by a peculiar feeling, Mari no longer felt like crying like she did last night. Yet discovering the truth about her mother didn’t bring her any joy either. Instead it brought only a strange emptiness. There was no sense of fulfilment only a question.

_‘What now?’_

She couldn’t remember what had happened after finding out the full truth about her mother last night. Mari knew that she had started to cry but anything after that was blurry. A mishmash of memories that she questioned the validity of. It was similar to a drunken haze after a good party only without any of the pleasure of actually being drunk. In the end she settled for the most logical explanation. She had been overwhelmed by the emotion and shut down, Rei must have guided her back here and put her to bed.

_‘I bet Akagi loved all of that, seeing the mighty Mari Makinami reduced to little more than a shell like that. The girl who always had an answer, who would always talk back and who was always ready for anything brought down to Earth in such a way. I feel disgusting for letting her of all people see me like that. Why couldn’t it have just been Rei there, or even Katsuragi or Asuka?’_

It had at least been a dreamless and somewhat relaxing sleep for her. No nightmares to speak of but that wouldn’t help with the emptiness she was feeling now. She stretched and let out a sigh before swinging her legs off of the bed and peering down at herself. A chuckle escaped her lips when she realized she had been left completely naked.

Looking across from her she could see her pyjama’s in a heap on the floor and her clothes from last night folded up on a chair.

_‘Well Rei did half the job at least. Getting clothes off of someone is always easier than putting them on. Especially when they aren’t co-operative. God knows how many times I had to do that to Asuka. Better find out where Rei is…’_

Mari stood up and took a moment to look at her reflection in the mirror. She tried to force a smile to her lips but it just didn’t work. Her trademark smile wasn’t going to happen today, they’d have to do with a lackluster frown instead.

She started to pull on her clothes thinking about everything that Ritsuko had explained to her last night again. It was a strange feeling for Mari to now be able to put a name to the person that had been responsible for the death of her mother. That name was Naoko Akagi, the parent of the acting captain of the AAA Wunder and she was acting under orders of the Commander of NERV Japan, Gendo Ikari, at that time.

It all seemed like it was too obvious an answer for it to really have been him that had ordered it to happen. Mari had always suspected that someone within SEELE was involved or from another part of NERV. Gendo had, after all been the one that had found Mari alone on the night of the murder. He had been the one to take her to the orphanage and ensure that she was safe.

Yet as time had gone on and she had learned more it finally started to come together and make sense. Naoko Akagi was at the United Kingdom NERV facility to oversee activation tests and bring on new versions of the MAGI systems. Gendo Ikari was there to inspect the facilities and liaise with the Commanders there.

At that point in time the two of them were miles apart and both high ranking members of the organization. There was never any need for anyone to suspect either one of them of any wrongdoing. The two were just carrying out the roles they had been ordered to do.

Mari had to wonder what would happen now for her. With the truth out there was that the end of her journey? All she had wanted was the truth, she had joined the IPEA and NERV to get at the truth. Just like Kaji had done. She never made any plans beyond that and now so much had changed. The world had changed, she had friends, she had fallen in love and she now had a world to help save.

She finished buttoning up her shirt and moved towards the door. She paused and took a deep breath and tried to smile again only to fail.

_‘No… I won’t wear a false smile. I’ll get through this, I just need time. I need her.’_

Mari opened the door and stepped through the door into the front room. Her eyes were drawn to the sight of Rei sitting on the couch. Her eyes were at the moment fixed on a game she was playing but they soon turned to see Mari. Mari had no time to react before the blue blur dashed towards her nearly knocking her onto her backside.

“Urk!” Mari called out as Rei wrestled her to the ground and hugged her tightly, “I’m pleased to see you too Rei!”

“Mari!” Rei’s voice had gone somewhat higher pitched from her usual tone, “How are you feeling?”

Mari released herself from Rei’s grasp before nodding, “Well… you know me. I’m dealing with it at the moment. In all honesty I feel a bit empty but I also feel like a weight has been lifted from me as well. I just need time.”

Rei knelt down in front of Mari and nodded, “Yes. You cried a lot last night. I was worried about you.”

Marin shrugged before standing and walking towards the kitchen, “Yeah… I bet I looked like a complete tit in front of Akagi too. She probably loved seeing that didn’t she?”

Rei shook her head, “No, she was very worried about you. She did not like seeing you in so much pain. She told me that she regrets having to be the one to tell you and that she is also sorry for what her mother did.”

“Regrets it huh?” Mari mumbled, “I guess she does have something of a heart in there after all.”

Rei gave a slight nod, “She is not quite who you think she is. She was the first one to care about me after all.”

“I know that now Rei, it’s just I’ve grown up here with a certain perception of her and she hasn’t done too much to change that.” Mari poured herself a glass of water as she spoke, “She doesn’t have to feel bad about it though. We might not get along but I can see that she was a victim of all this too. The kids shouldn’t feel responsible for what their parents did.”

“I think she will be glad to hear that…”

“And besides if they did then you and Shinji would just end up feeling like shit all of the time.” Mari chuckled, “I guess Shinji just feels bad for things by default but you… not so much.”

Rei smiled, “I… feel bad on occasion for what he has done and also what I had to do during my time at NERV. I regret fighting you all but I do not feel there is a point in me dwelling on that. It is not my life and I did not have complete control of who I was.”

“Exactly!” Mari nodded, “So… Akagi shouldn’t feel bad for her mother’s actions. On the other hand there are a number of things she should feel bad for!”

Mari actually grinned but on seeing the frown on Rei’s face dropped the grin, “I guess… that can wait. I know you and I don’t share the same feelings when it comes to the Empress of Vulcan. What have you been up to this morning? Did I miss anything?”

“The Wunder has started moving towards the facility once again. Erika is also awake now, I… went to visit her earlier.”

“Oh… so our little hybrid girl is alive is she? How is Little Miss Angel doing?”

“She feels… sad and alone. She is unsure of just who she is now and if she has a place in this world. She needs friends… just as I did.”

“Then it is decided!” Mari slammed down the carton of milk she was holding with some enthusiasm causing an amount of it to spill out onto the table top and also herself, “Um… oops?”

Rei suppressed a giggle as she watched Mari wipe up the milk, “W-What is de-decided?”

Mari stuck her tongue out at a giggling Rei, “We will go and befriend her! We tell her about the world and help her find her way.”

When Mari spoke there was a small amount of triumph in her voice that Rei enjoyed hearing. Although she was somewhat concerned at the sudden turnaround in Mari’s attitude when compared with yesterday.

“I was under the impression that you didn’t trust her.”

Mari gave a small shake of her head, “I don’t trust her… but I trust you Blue!”

“I… do not understand.”

“If you say she is fine then… I won’t doubt that. Back when we brought you and Shinji on board people didn’t trust either of you and look at how wrong they were. I know a few of them are still not quite on board but…” Mari saw Rei’s eyes lower at the last statement, “But hey look! That’s normal isn’t it? I’m not saying they are right to not trust you, they’re stupid for it but people are stupid!”

“I understand. I was with NERV for so long it will probably take a lo-“

“Hey stop that!” Mari finished cleaning up the milk and making her cereal, “Point is that she is probably a victim in all of this too. If what you say about the Angel being… friendly is actually true then maybe it all really was a big misunderstanding. Angels are probably just as confused about humanity as humanity is itself.”

Rei nodded in approval, “Thank you… I think she will appreciate your friendship. You are able to say and do things much better than I am.”

“Besides it’s not like she almost caused an Impact… twice.”

Rei frowned prompting a quick reply from Mari, “I’m joking! Just… dark humour I suppose. Trying to get through this shitty feeling of emptiness I have.”

“Sorry I did not realize.”

“It’s fine Rei, it wasn’t a funny joke anyway.” Mari put a spoonful of cereal into her mouth, “Seeing Erika will be good for me though. I can’t sit still and dwell on what happened. I need to move forward.”

There was a brief pause, “So… this Erika… is she cute?”

“No.” Rei stated bluntly.

“What she isn’t cute?” Mari couldn’t help but sound disappointed.

Rei shook her head, “I was actually saying no to what would have been your second question.”

Rei rose to her feed and stepped towards Mari and cupped the girl’s cheek, “Erika is cute but no we are not going to invite her for that.”

Mari nearly burst into a laugh but instead put on a shocked expression, “I-I would… I was not going to… in fact why would you even suggest such a thing?”

“The material that we have watched together on numerous occasions’ often included three participants.” Rei frowned as she explained, “Even if you hadn’t have already told me that would make it only natural to assume that this is something of a fantasy of yours. Yet whilst the idea might be appealing I have no desire to share you with anyone. Regardless of how cute they might be.”

Mari grinned, “But I’m sad Rei.”

Rei’s hand got firmer on Mari’s cheek and she was pulled closer towards Rei, “You are also mine.”

Rei pressed her lips to Mari’s and slowly slid her tongue deep inside Mari’s mouth. As she kissed her she felt Mari melt into her arms before slowly pulling away. Mari looking somewhat dazed simply stared into her eyes, “Okay… fair enough. I’m yours.”

XXX

"Asuka are you feeling alright?"

Shinji knelt down in front of her, a look of panic spread across his face. He gently held his hand up to Asuka's cheek stroking it gently before giving a concerned glance downwards. Clutching her stomach she snarled at him, "What do you think?"

"S-Sorry..." He stammered back, "Is there anything I can do?"

Asuka gave a light nod and sighed, "My pack, painkillers... bring them over here and some water too."

Shinji quickly hurried himself over to her pack and rummaged through it eventually finding the small box. He then rushed over to the kitchen and poured her a glass of water. His hands were trembling as he handed both items over to Asuka.

She was still glaring at him for a moment but on seeing his trembling hands her expression softened and she chuckled, "They're only period cramps Shinji, I'm not dying or anything. Don't worry."

Shinji knelt down again and brought himself level with her. He felt himself blush, "O-Oh... I thought..."

She laughed again, "I forgot you probably haven't seen me like this before. I mean I've not had cramps this bad in a while."

Asuka took two of the small tablets out of the box and placed them in her mouth before swallowing them along with a mouthful of the water. Shinji shook his head, "O-Oh... are you going to be alright?"

She gave a nod, "In about five minutes I will be. The damn implant Akagi gave me is supposed to help with this sort of thing but every now and then I'll still get them pretty bad. It would of course have to happen when we're a million miles from more comfortable things though."

Shinji stood up and glanced out of the window. The hot sun was beating down over the village once again and far off beyond the perimeter of the village lay the desolate wasteland.  It had been a couple of days since they had travelled to the outpost and saw the arrival of the Regula System.

In a brief meeting with Karim the two of them had been told that the device was nearing completion. They would be travelling to the outpost again later today in order to witness the final moments of its construction. It would also be the day that they would test if Espèrers theory was correct. Shinji reached for the necklace around his neck and started to wonder just what, if any, secrets it contained.

"I've decided..." Asuka spoke, "…we're going to take Unit 02 with us to the outpost."

"Huh?" Shinji looked around in confusion to see that Asuka had already stood up and was walking towards their folded up plugsuits.

"Did you not hear me?" She asked, "We're going to take Unit 02 with us today."

Asuka reached down and grabbed Shinji's blue Plugsuit and threw it towards him. Shinji reached out to catch it wondering just why Asuka had made this sudden decision.

"But... why?" He started to ask, "We aren't going to need it are we?"

Asuka shook her head, "I hope not but I don't think we should go there without it. It's been nearly two weeks now since we fought that Angel. We haven't had any new of the Wunder or the Nemesis Series."

"You think something might happen with one of those?"

Asuka shrugged, "Maybe... we are about to use a piece of experimental technology. Last time it was used something went wrong and the area it was used in is now inhospitable for any life. I can't... take any risks. Not with you there."

Shinji only nodded in reply understanding her fears. He closed the curtains in the room and quickly stripped away his clothing and started to pull the plugsuit on. There was a very familiar feeling within the pit of his stomach, a nervous fluttering as his pulled the plugsuit up around his shoulders. He tapped the button and felt the suit constrain itself to his body. Behind him he heard Asuka's plugsuit making the same sounds.

Asuka stood for a moment and looked Shinji up and down. She took a deep breath and allowed her nerves to be placated by the sight of her boyfriend's body in the tight suit. She gave a small smirk as she watched him bend over to place something in his pack.

 _'I could never get tired of that view...'_ Asuka paused,  _'Oh god I sound like Mari.'_

There was a small twinge of pain in her lower stomach but the feeling was starting to subside with each passing minute. Asuka could really have done without that starting today. She picked up her neural clips from the small bedside table and slid them into place in her hair before picking up her old eyepatch.

She held the eyepatch across both of her hands for a few moments and simply looked at it before glancing up at herself in the mirror. Her gaze, as it tended to since she had removed the patch, shifted immediately to look at her damaged eye. The bright green eye stared back at her, it was strange that despite her not being able to see out of the eye, it seemed to have the same spark of life that her other eye had.

Asuka had to admit that since removing the patch it did feel like a small weight had been lifted from her shoulders. A number of fears had been placated by it's removal. First there was the fear of the so-called Angelic Contamination. Asuka had always believed that removing the patch for too long might unleash whatever was left of that Angel within her.

Secondly there was her own vanity. She always thought that what was underneath was ugly. Something that shouldn't be seen. Exposing it would lead Shinji to leave or others to stare at her. When she looked at it she could see the scars and the ugliness of it but people did not stare at her and Shinji was not going to leave. He had even called her eye pretty. He liked the colour and contrast it provided to her other blue eye.

Asuka put the eyepatch back down on the table and shook her head. Each day she had woken up and contemplated putting it back on. Today was just like those other days, it was not going to go back over her eye.

She looked across to see a visibly worried Shinji and smirked, "Nothing will happen Shinji. We're just doing this as a precaution."

She didn't know just how true that was. In the back of her mind she was always running through the previous missions she had been a part of. She could remember each and every time something unexpected had happened. In fact that was always one of the first things she had told the cadets on board the Wunder. To never go into an operation thinking it'll be smooth sailing.

Ever since the second attempt to recover Shinji, she had taken this to heart. The third attempt to rescue him she had been prepared for that attack from the Nemesis Series. If it hadn't been for Mari being late she could even have taken them.

_'Fortunately Shinji was there...'_

She felt Shinji's arms wrap themselves around her waist and they spent a few moments looking at one another's reflection in the mirror. Her nerves were subsiding just due to this simple act of being held by him.

"I know..." He whispered, "You've always protected me.'

XXX

“So then…” Mari grinned, “Rei tells me you have an Angel living inside of you?”

Erika’s eyes widened with fear and she frantically turned her head from the brunette to Rei. Rei shook her head and looked away in embarrassment bringing her hand up to her face. Erika looked towards the other occupant of the room but Sakura seemed to have a set of headphones on and was busy with some reports to even hear what had just been said.

Erika’s mouth opened and closed a few times as she tried to figure out a way to respond. She wished she could run away but currently being in a wheelchair didn’t quite have that as an option. Instead she merely settled for making an uncomfortable ‘mmm’ noise.

Mari then brought herself uncomfortably close to Erika. Erika looked down only to get an eyeful of the girls’ ample cleavage, she immediately looked back up into the bespectacled girls eyes. Mari seemed to study her quite intensely for a few moments, peering into each eye and then sniffing around her. Erika gave Rei a pleading look hoping that she might put an end to this.

Finally Mari gave a final sniff and pulled away, “Mmm… LCL, you’re covered in it.”

“Um… I… showered this morning?” Erika responded not really knowing what to make of Mari at all. Beyond knowing that she was Rei’s girlfriend she knew next to nothing about her. It seemed really strange to imagine the two of them as a couple but at the same time she knew that Rei wasn’t what people would call normal either. Erika wondered if maybe all Evangelion pilots were odd like this.

“Well you don’t look any different despite the whole… Angel thing.” Mari said whilst extending her hand, “I’m Mari Makinami! Wondrous pilot of Evangelion Unit 08!”

Erika carefully extended her hand out and the two shook hands, “I’m… E-Erika Pearson… I’m… Well I was the pilot of Evangelion Unit 04.”

“But now you’re a half human/half Angel hybrid! So tell me Erika, how does that work? Do you like take it in turns to be the dominant one? Who am I talking to now? Is it like the Angel advises you or what?” Mari inquired.

“Umm I…” Erika glanced down, “I don’t… I didn’t…”

“Mari, I do not believe Erika wishes to discuss such things right now.” Rei finally spoke up and halted Mari’s stream of questions, but to Erika’s delight.

“Aww!” Mari flopped herself down onto the nearby bed whilst smiling, “But I need something to think about to distract me.”

Erika nodded, “It is not that I do not wish to… I am more just overwhelmed I guess. I didn’t expect you to… well I thought you’d hate me after what nearly happened to Rei.”

Mari gave a shrug of her shoulders, “I reserve hate for certain types of people. If you had have actually hurt Rei then maybe you would have been one of them.”

Erika bowed her head, “I am sorry.”

“As it is Rei did explain the situation to me, it was just a misunderstanding and it’s not the first misunderstanding we have had here and won’t be the last.” Mari explained, “I’ll admit I didn’t want to trust you but… I trust Rei and if she says things are fine then I’ll accept that.”

“T-Thank you… I appreciate that.”

Mari flashed the girl another smile as Rei finally stepped towards one of the beds and sat herself down.

“How are you feeling Erika?” Rei asked.

It was Erika’s turn to shrug, “I don’t know really, everything here feels so new and different to what I knew before. When I was within Leliel it was so different, I was free to explore the worlds I created and run around and everything. I have to get used to reality now.”

She lowered her head, “I guess… I’m scared of what the others will think of me too. When they find out what I am.”

“Well that isn’t going to happen for a while, no one knows yet so you’re safe.” Mari replied, “Akagi made sure to keep the pool of people who knew limited to just us.”

“Yeah… I suppose that makes sense.” Erika responded before wheeling herself backwards slightly so that she could see both Rei and Mari. “I am truly sorry about everything that happened though. We…”

Erika trailed off as Rei suddenly stood up. She watched as the girl strode over to her with a determined look on her face. Rei leaned in for a moment and then wrapped her arms around Erika pulling her into a hug.

“You no longer have to apologize. I have forgiven you and Mari will do the same in time.”

From the corner of her eye Erika could see Mari nod, “I’m already half way there, between what I learned last night, this and many other things I’m not really in the mood to hold grudges. I guess really all of us Eva pilots are a little bit messed up. I mean between nearly triggering an impact, being brainwashed to fight against us and whatever else you’re in pretty good company. The only one of us to not do anything really silly is Asuka!”

Rei looked up, “I do not recall you doing anything silly?”

“I hijacked Unit 02, smashed it into the tenth Angel nearly destroying it in the process whilst unleashing it’s hidden Beast Mode function.”

“Good point.” Rei replied.

Erika giggled at the little conversation between the two of them. She found it quite interesting to see how different the two of them were. Mari was very in your face and seemed like the sort who wouldn’t be afraid to give her opinion. Yet she gave off the impression of being a very kind and caring person. The sort who would go out of her way to help others.

She couldn’t really blame Mari for being mistrusting of her either. Erika and Leliel had nearly killed the person that Mari had loved. They didn’t mean to but it was still something they felt dreadful about and wanted to make up for it.

Rei on the other hand was fairly quiet and soft spoken. To some she might have seemed cold and unapproachable but there was a warmth to her. Rei didn’t speak too much but when she did it always seemed like it was meant to be there.

“There was something I wanted to ask you Mari. When I was training to be a pilot I remember looking through the roster of pilots both active and on reserve.” Erika looked up towards Rei and nodded, “Rei was there, Shinji Ikari, Asuka Shikinami and there was another… Kawa… Kowa-something?”

“Kaworu Nagisa?” Rei confirmed.

Erika gave a nod, “Yeah! Kaworu! He was a reserve pilot like me, he had just visited the base actually but I never got a chance to speak with him.”

Mari’s head suddenly jerked up, “Wait, Nagisa was at your base?”

Erika shrugged, “Yeah, I don’t know why. Like I said I never got a chance to speak to him. I just-“

“That doesn’t make any sense. Kaworu didn’t appear until after the Near-Third…” Mari was frowning deeply as she spoke, “He brought the Mark 06 down with him, why the hell was he in the US before that?”

“I dunno?” Erika added, “I just remember seeing him there. If he was a reserve pilot doesn’t it make sense that he’d visit other bases though? Maybe they wanted to station him there.”

Mari just nodded in agreement deciding that talking about this right now was probably not the best course of action. Yet what Eriuka was telling her made little to no sense. Kaworu was stationed in the NERV Tabgha base during the construction of the Mark. 06. He arrived at NERV along with that particular Unit supposedly as a replacement for Shinji.

_‘Kaworu Nagisa… I need to learn more about him and just what he was. I know what he ended up becoming but what sort of person was he? Why was he even here? Why did NERV/SEELE have what was an Angel assigned to the roster. I need to speak to Rei about it, maybe she’ll know.’_

“Anyway… as I was saying…” Erika continued, pulling Mari from her thoughts, “I knew about all of those but I don’t remember seeing you on the roster Mari. Were you added after the Unit 04 incident?”

Mari let out a laugh, “Oh that… well that is… see I’ve always been an Evangelion pilot. I just got into NERV through… unorthodox means.”

"Unorthodox?" Erika looked towards Rei for some sort of explanation.

“Mari was working with the IPEA at that time, she was sent in to Tokyo-3 to observe us. During the fight with the tenth Angel she hijacked Evangelion Unit 02.” Rei answered her.

Mari was grinning, “Well that’s the short version but what can I say, I like to make an entrance! Maybe one day I’ll tell you the full story.”

“Y-Yeah… please do.”

"Y-Yeah... definitely." Erika replied with a smile. It was strange but over the course of their short conversation all the fear and apprehension Erika was feeling had subsided and was now only replaced by a warm glow. She knew that those feelings would come back, in those moments when they and no one else was around it'd surface but maybe in time those feelings would go away completely.

 _'Maybe... we will be alright after all.'_ Erika thought to herself feeling a warm glow of confirmation from Leliel at the same time.

XXX

Asuka couldn't take her eyes off of the unique looking device that stood in front of both her and Shinji. This was the first time that someone outside of Espèrer had been allowed to see it. It gave her both a feeling of pride and also a feeling of fear to be this close to it. It was a machine that was capable of wonderful things, something that could possibly restore their world. At the same time she knew of the destruction that it could cause.

In the back of her mind that conversation with Karim replayed itself. How he told her that the last usage of this device had left the area it was used in scarred beyond all recognition. No one person had been able to enter the area since the incident and it had taken a number of recovery drones to salvage the device itself.

Also in the back of her mind was the knowledge that WILLE themselves had started to step up pressure to acquire the device. Asuka couldn't help but wonder if WILLE were aware of what was happening right at this moment. She wondered if perhaps people would be on their way to stop this or merely observe it.

Both Asuka and Shinji knew that there had been a mole on board the Wunder reporting to NERV. It was therefore reasonable to assume that if NERV had a person there they might have one here too. WILLE or one of the other factions were likely to have had them too. It was the nature of both this world and the one that existed before. After all that was exactly what Kaji was, although instead of being aligned to any one faction he was working solely for himself.

She turned her head slightly to see Shinji fidgeting nervously as he contemplated the device in front of them. She could see Misato's necklace being held tightly in his hand and little beads fo sweat on his forehead.

"Is this really going to work?" He finally asked whilst nodding towards the system.

The Regula System itself, Asuka noted was not one singular device. It was actually comprised of five individual pieces. In the center of the room stood a large cylindrical object about twice as tall as Asuka. It's shape was not too dissimilar to that of an entry plug but it was made of a transparent material and three prongs extended from the base acting as a stand.

Within the centre of the cylinder was a bright red pulsating sphere that reminded Asuka very much of the exposed core of an Evangelion or Angel. Whilst details of how Espèrer had been able to build the device were scarce it was safe to assume that some of its construction came from the same place that NERV and other groups used to advance their own programs.

Surrounding the device itself were four antenna like objects each one standing about one and a half times the height of the central cylinder. Each one was connected to each other and the cylinder by a series of thick wires. Asuka made a note that the area marked out was about that of a small house.

Little had been explained to the two of them about how the system worked. What they had been told that these antennas acted as a form of perimeter. They could create an energy field over the area in which nothing would be able to enter or escape whilst the device does what it needs to do. Anything within the marked off area would be transformed.

Leading from these devices were more wires connected to a number of consoles and terminals that would soon be manned by Espèrer personnel.

Asuka was still contemplating how best to answer Shinji's question. The truth was that she didn't really know herself if this would work. A dark feeling in the pit of her stomach told her that only bad things would come of this. That instead of transforming the necklace it'd reduce everything to ash and then... then she'd have to pilot Unit 02 and fight.

She couldn't let herself think that nor could she let Shinji think it either. She forced the thoughts and feelings to the back of her mind and tried to force her old attitude to come to the front. She felt the smirk cross her lips, "OF course it's going to work! We'll find out where the tower is and stop your father in no time!"

She watched for Shinji's reaction not knowing whether her display was convincing or not. She thought back over her words, maybe she sounded a bit too hero-like, she didn't want to call him stupid or idiot Shinji but perhaps she had gone too far the other way. It didn't seem to matter as Shinji smiled seemingly comforted by her little display of confidence, "I hope so... I just... I wish I knew what it was he was even doing. What reason does he have for all of this? Why make the world this way? Why treat me the way he has done?"

"Because he's an asshole?" Asuka replied.

Shinji just nodded, "I know but... the world thought that I caused Third Impact yet the proof was there all along that it didn't happen how they thought. He must have known... he must have done!"

Asuka took his hand in hers, "We'll find out Shinji. We'll get everything sorted out, your role in Third Impact, why the truth was hidden and what your father is up to. We'll figure it all out, after all we have me leading us."

He laughed, "That's true but do we not know anything?"

"We have a name, 'Human Instrumentality Project.' SEELE's name within the UN before they were exposed was the Committee for Human Instrumentality. Any information on what exactly they were doing has not been unearthed though. Everything was kept very secret but we know it wasn't good. We can probably assume based on the fate of SEELE that they and your father had a difference of opinion at some point though."

"Yeah..." Shinji watched as a group of people moved into the room, each one taking up a position at one of the console. His heart started to beat faster in his chest in response to their presence. Soon they would find out whether they could really move forward or not.

There had been so much that had happened to him in such a short period of time. Taking into account the missing fourteen years or so it really felt like less than a year since he had turned up in Tokyo-3 and met Misato for the first time. He barely knew anything of his own world back then and now he found himself in a world he knew even less of.

"Asuka..." He spoke.

"Mhmm?"

"When we are... when this is over will you... show me more of this world?" He asked.

Asuka smiled, "What do you mean?"

Shinji shook his head, "I just... I know so little about it. I've managed to learn bits and pieces here and there but everything is still so different to what I knew and what I expected. I'm reminded all the time that I missed fourteen years of... everything. I don't know what countries or cities are around, I know nothing of films or TV or music here..."

Asuka raised a curious eyebrow, "Okay, but why the sudden interest?"

"When I was in Tokyo-3 I used to just accept things as they were. I went through my life and just waited for things to happen to me. I had no plans or friends or anything. I always thought that if I vanished or died it wouldn't matter..."

"Idiot!" Asuka almost snarled at him.

"I don't feel that way now though... I still don't really have any plans but I have friends and... well Misato and Rei are my family I guess. I have you and I think I should try to learn more and understand it."

"Fine." Asuka said, "When this is over we travel. I could probably do with taking a vacation anyway, it's been too long since the last one."

XXX

“The team are reporting in that they have landed safely at the facility ma’am. No problems so far.” Kitakami reported.

Ritsuko gave a small nod of her head, “Good. Tell them to proceed as planned.”

Ritsuko could feel the nerves rising up inside of her but did her utmost to not allow that fact to become visible to the others. Instead she focused her gaze on the middle of the command centre at the large display that sat there. On the display was a wireframe map showing a top down view of the island and the facility.

The bridge crew still had no idea just what this facility was, at the moment the only people who knew were herself, Mari and the three people who had travelled to the facility. Soon, she expected, everyone would know of the true nature of the facility. It was unavoidable but she would have to face that when it happened.

_‘He will be watching closely won’t he, he will be waiting to take action but we are prepared for it. Just be careful Rei.’_

Kitakami suddenly spoke up, “Captain… I’m… getting some interference in our communications with the team. It seems something is making an attempt to block all contact.”

_‘And so it begins…’_

“It’s to be expected, this facility is an old SEELE base so it is likely to have something installed to block communications like this. This is why we have Unit 08 on standby and additional security ready to travel down there.” Ritsuko attempted to reassure the woman.

“I don’t mean to question you…” Tama suddenly spoke up, “But shouldn’t we have sent additional security down there with them, why send that girl as well?”

Ritsuko didn’t move from where she was standing, she was surprised no one had asked this earlier, “The facility is abandoned so there was no need to send down additional bodies at the moment. Any threat that the team may face can be swiftly handled by either Maya or Makoto.”

“And what about the girl, she can’t be capable of doing much can she?”

“Rei is down there because despite being an SEELE built facility it was developed in conjunction with NERV. As such Rei possesses knowledge on its layout that will prove useful to us. You all know just what Rei was to NERV and its Commander, therefore she can aid them in accomplishing their goal.”

“Unless she turns on them.” Tama added, “How do we know this isn’t a trap?”

“We don’t but these were orders given to us by WILLE and I am not going to go against the committees’ decision. We have taken all the precautions we can for the moment.” Ritsuko lied knowing that mentioning the committee would keep Tama quiet for the moment.

She was correct in her assumption and watched as he fell silent and went back to monitoring his station. She surveyed the rest of the bridge and observed her crew working in silence, the only sounds being the occasional beep of a console and the low humming of the engines.

_‘Soon…’_

As if reading her mind Kitakami spoke up and looked around with a look of shock on her face, “That’s… strange.”

The nerves now started to kick in properly as she felt a tightness in her chest. She stepped forward, “What is it Kitakami, did something happen at the facility?”

Kitakami shook her head, “N-No… not on the facility. On the ship, it might be nothing serious but we just had a large energy spike from the lower decks. People down there are reporting a loss of power in some places but emergency power has activated.”

Ritsuko frowned, “Have one of our security teams head down there and see what is happening.”

“The nearest team are the ones in the hanger, should I send them?”

Ritsuko nodded, “Do it and have another team meet in the hanger as soon as possible. Inform the team and Mari of what is happening.”

_‘You have five minutes…’_

XXX

Shinji held out his hand and watched as Karim carefully took the necklace out of it and handed it to a scientist clad in a yellow hazmat suit. The scientist walked across the room into the perimeter marked out by the pylons and set placed the necklace down on a small wooden pedestal.

Shinji turned to Asuka, “Hey Asuka… this device is supposed to… turn things back to how they used to be right?”

Asuka raised an eyebrow in curiosity, “Yeah… sort of. Why?”

“Well I was just thinking that if it’ll make the necklace look like it used to and the ground what will it do to other objects? If that’s made of wood does that mean it’ll bec-”

Asuka let out a snort of laughter, “No you idiot! It won’t turn the wood back into a tree or something. That’ll simply be what it was when we started the procedure. It can only work with certain things.”

“Oh…” Shinji looked down in embarrassment, “I thought that…”

Still laughing she shook her head, “I know what you thought! No it’s only things that have been… well corrupted by the Third Impact I guess that can be reverted and I guess they think also things that are to do with what they found with the scrolls. It’s not a magical age reversal tool.”

“So what if they put an Eva in there?” he asked.

Asuka shrugged, “I suppose… it’d go back to its embryonic stage maybe? We’re not trying it on Unit 02 anyway! Look they’re starting.”

They both looked on as each of the scientists in the room took up a position at a station. Karim stood in the centre of them looking on sternly. She could see the nervous look on his face as he contemplated the machine and what they were about to do. Finally he held a radio up to his mouth and started to issue commands to the team.

As the device sprang to life and the room was filled with the low humming sounds of machinery Shinji reached out to grab Asuka’s hand. They stood close to one another and continued to watch as the device got louder and a thin white light was seen on each of the four pylons around the system.

Shinji’s hand tightened around Asuka’s as Karim turned and gave them a small nod.

“Five…”

Asuka took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, watching as flicker of orange light past between each of the pylons.

“Four…”

Shinji felt a nervous sickly feeling in the pit of his stomach as the orange light intensified reminding him very much of the A.T. Fields produced by the Angels and Eva’s.

“Three…”

Asuka focused on the necklace, it was vibrating as the humming from the machinery grew more intense. The fields around the perimeter were becoming more solid.

“Two…”

Shinji could see the red sphere at the centre of the device start to pulse and tremble more violently as the lights around it intensified. The humming was building up to a roar.

“One…”

Karim’s voice was barely audible as the two of them had no choice but to let go of each other’s hand. Shinji shielded his eyes as a bright white light engulfed everything around him. The sound of the machine was almost deafening and the ground heaved and shook nearly sending him sprawling to the ground.

“ASUKA!” He yelled out trying to find out where she was. He moved forward only to feel something grab him and pull him back. He turned around to see Asuka briefly.

“STAY HERE! DON’T MOVE!” He heard her yell as the ground shook again this time finishing the job of sending him to the ground.

Suddenly all the light, all the sounds and shaking stopped. Shinji immediately looked over to the device to see that where there was once red scorched earth there was now golden sand in the area marked out by the pylons.

It had been successful. The device had actually worked and reverted what was in it back to its previous state. He looked up to see the pedestal had been knocked over with all of the shaking but the necklace was still there. Much to his disappointment it looked exactly the same.

“N-Nothing happened.” Shinji muttered unable to hide his disappointment, “A-Asuka…”

There was no reply, he turned around to see Asuka had dropped to her knees and was clutching her head. He dashed over to her side, “A-Asuka… are you alright?”

She looked up at him as he approached a look of horror on her face, “U-Unit 02…”

“Huh?”

“GET TO UNIT 02 NOW!” She yelled out, “THEY’RE COMING!”

XXX

“Captain…” Kitakami spoke again, “Something else has happened. Not here or in the facility but west of here. A huge surge of energy. It lasted for a few moments but… wait I’m…”

Ritsuko frowned and stepped forward. This was unexpected and she didn’t like that. Her mind tried to scramble for an explanation but from here and without knowing more nothing came to mind.

“Do we have any more information?”

“No we don’t but… Oh my G=god.” Kitakami looked up unable to hide the panic on her face, “We have a lot of movement heading out way. Sensors are idenitifying them as belonging to the Nemesis Series.”

“Shit.” Ritsuko darted forward and yelled out, “Get me Unit 08 immediately!”

A few seconds later Mari’s face appeared on the viewscreen. Ritsuko felt a pang of guilt on witnessing the girls’ dulled expression. It had barely been more than a day that she had delivered that news to Mari and now this was happening. Still there was no time to think about that right now.

“Mari!”

Realizing what was happening Mari’s expression quickly changed, “What is it?”

“We have a problem, we have to change our plans. Nemesis Series are incoming.”

Mari’s eyes widened, “Are you sure?”

“Yes, we will intercept them but you know what you have to do. Protect her at all costs, she should be leaving the hanger soon.”

“Okay got it!” Mari’s image vanished from the screen and Ritsuko suddenly noticed that all of the crew on the bridge except for Aoba were staring at her with confused expressions on their faces. It was Takao who broke the silence, “Leaving the hanger? What the hell is going on here?”

Ritsuko let out a sigh, “There has been a change in our plans, or at least to yourselves it will appear as such. Kitakami has the second security team reached the hanger bay yet?”

Kitakami nodded, “Y-Yes but they’re reporting one of the craft has just left! Should we pursue?”

Ritsuko shook her head, “No, ignore it. We are to leave immediately to engage the Nemesis Series.”

“Wait just a damn second! What is going on here?” Takao asked again.

Ritsuko turned towards him, “I have just allowed our prisoner and the captain of this ship to escape with one of our craft and head towards the facility. I do not have time to explain my actions further but you will all receive an explanation in due time. If either of you no longer wishes to partake in this operation or serve under me I understand but let it be known that Katsuragi will know about it when she returns.”

“R-Returns?” Nagara spluttered, “But she is…”

“We don’t have time, Aoba?”

“Yes?” He turned around.

“How long until she reaches the facility?”

“About five to ten minutes.”

“Good. We have plenty of time. The rest of you turn this ship around and bring on all of our defensive systems. We need to make sure we greet these bastards correctly.”

Ritsuko waited for any further protests but each member of the bridge crew simply turned to their stations and began to work. As they did Ritsuko quietly made her way to Aoba, “Do we know which one yet?”

Aoba shook his head, “Not yet. It still might not be either of them. I know what you’re thinking though and it won’t be that. It can’t be.”

Ritsuko lowered her eyes, “People change Aoba, we can’t be certain of anything.”

XXX

Mari watched nervously as the behemoth form of the AAA Wunder rose up into the air and started to accelerate away from her position. Any other time she might have laughed and made some sort of remark but this was not that time. She still felt shook from the other night and despite attempts made to cheer herself up or act normal she kept sinking back into those feelings of emptiness.

_‘My mother… I know who killed you now but why… do I feel so empty?’_

She glanced back at the facility knowing that Rei was in there right now and likely in a lot of danger. She wished that she could be in there with them but it just wasn’t possible. She had to be here for a situation such as this. All the help Rei needed would arrive in just a few moments.

She had tried to persuade Rei a final time to not go through with this but Rei hadn’t budged. It was something she had to do. She had accepted the risks but she also knew that things would work out. She had faith in them all, in Mari, in Katsuragi and in Akagi. It had all been planned out secretly over the course of a few weeks. Mari didn’t know all the details but she now knew enough to be on board.

She checked her display for Katsuragi’s craft and finally spotted it. There were still another few minutes to go before it’d arrive at the facility and Mari had to suppress all temptation to contact the pilot. To check it really was Katsuragi and that everything was going smoothly.

Mari actually felt like killing Rei when she had learned about this whole thing this morning. She could understand why it had happened this way but it didn’t mean she had to like it. The only thing that could scupper their plans now though was this sudden appearance of the Nemesis Series.

Mari clutched the large double edged blade tightly in Eva Unit 08s hand and took a few steps out into the calm waters below to try to look out for the incoming enemy. An alert had appeared within her cockpit signifying the Wunder had made contact. There were a lot of them and they were moving quickly.

_‘If you get anywhere near here… I’m going to kill each and every one of you.’_


	25. March Of The Machines

“We’re here.” Rei heard Maya calmly announce as the VTOL touched down at the landing site. Rei unclipped her belt and promptly stood up and watched as the door slowly opened downwards forming a ramp for the three of them to leave the aircraft.

Rei peered outside onto the beach towards the facility. The wind had picked up and looking up she could see the moon had been obscured by clouds. She turned to see Maya and Makoto quietly grabbing what they needed to before the three of them left the craft in silence.

She hung a few steps behind the pair of them as they walked the few hundred metres or so towards what she knew to be the NERV Golgotha base. It didn’t look like much from here, little more than a rectangular block. Most of the base itself extended underground and out into the sea around the back of the island. She didn’t know if it was the cold or the nerves from seeing this place properly but her body started to tremble.

_‘This is the place of my birth. This is where they keep the rest of my kind. I can… feel them in there. Those empty shells in those tanks… waiting for their moment to live.’_

Rei had been to this place on two occasions. The first time she had been too young to really understand anything that was happening. That was the moment of her first birth, when she had woken up in the form of a four year old girl. She was given a name and introduced to Gendo Ikari, Kozo Fuyutsuki and the woman she now knew as Naoko Akagi.

The second time she had been here was some ten years later. When she had woken up in her current body. This time there was only Gendo Ikari and Kozo Fuyutsuki to greet her. The second time was not like the first. She was asked if she knew her name and her purpose and that was it. No further communications.

There was very little of the large facility that she could truly remember. She remembered the central chamber that had been the place of her birth. It resembled a very similar place at NERV itself however surrounding the central tank that had housed her were more tanks with replacement bodies for Rei.

She could remember an underwater observation room. She had been taken there once in her younger form and watched the various fish through it. It had been a pleasant experience.

Rei could remember the maze of corridors within the facility too and the way to the central chamber. That was where she had to be to accomplish her goal. Unfortunately she also knew of the obstacle that was in front of her. What she was doing was a huge risk, if something went wrong then he would have control of her again. Unlike last time there was probably not going to be a chance of her breaking free of his grasp.

The trio approached a large steel door, the only entrance into the large facility. Makoto looked up at the imposing structure, “What the hell is this place? What were SEELE doing here?”

Rei remained silence as they edged closer to the door. Almost immediately Makoto’s tone changed upon witnessing the faded silver NERV logo on the door. He turned towards Maya and Rei with shock, “Wait… this is NERV?”

Maya turned around and glared at way, she asked coldly, “Did you know about this Rei?”

Rei simply nodded, “Yes, this was their Golgotha facility.”

Both Maya and Makoto seemed to exchange a look of confusion with one another before turning towards Rei. It looked for a moment like one of them was going to say something else but no one did. Rei took that as an opportunity to step forward and hold her hand up to the scanner by the side of the door.

Just as she expected the door beeped once and slowly started to slide open.

“We should go.” She said.

Rei’s body didn’t stop trembling as she stepped through the door into the darkened corridor. She had no time to think about anything else as there was a grunt of pain from behind her and the sound of a body falling to the floor. Rei quickly spun around but was caught off guard as the baton made contact with her. She felt only pain as her body fell to the ground.

 _‘Mari… I am… I will return to you… I will not become the Third…’_ She thought to herself as she tried to look up to her attacker. She could see nothing as her eyes became heavy, _“Misato… please hurry.’_

XXX

Shinji barely had enough time to get into his seat before Unit 02 came to life and LCL began to fill the entry plug. There were the familiar flashes of light on the entry plug walls before he was able to see what was in front of them. Everything seemed to be calm, the outpost was ahead of them and beyond that the vast red desert. Stars twinkled in the night sky and yet there was a deep sense of foreboding within him.

He had never seen Asuka like this before. He had seen her angry and upset but what had had on her face after the Regula System had done its work was sheer terror. She had been terrified of whatever it was she had seen. Whatever it was had affected her physically too, he was sure her eye was glowing as she had gotten up and shoved past him to get to Unit 02.

“A-Asuka what’s happenin-“

“SHUT UP!” She yelled and cut him off, “JUST… SHUT UP! DON’T SAY ANYTHING. SHUT UP!”

“Asuka…” He tried to speak again.

“I SAID SHUT UP!” She turned around and snarled at him.

Shinji didn’t dare try to say anything else. He sunk back into his seat in fear at what was happening. The look on Asuka’s face was not that of anger or hatred, it was still fear. She was frightened of something but what it was he didn’t know. He was tempted to move forward and put his arms around her but before he could move Unit 02 started to take a few steps forward.

Asuka brought up the communications channel, “Karim. Have you picked them up yet?”

There was a brief pause which allowed Shinji the opportunity to check the instruments in his seat. A glance at the radar nearly caused him to gasp, Karim’s voice was heard not a moment later. There was none of the familiar warmth to it. Instead it was solemn,  _“Yes… we’ve picked them up.”_

“Get everyone here and go back to the village, evacuate everyone and get them far away.”

_“With all respect we can help you, allow my people to provide suppor-“_

“NO!” Asuka yelled, “I ca- We ca- Your people need you. You and everyone else here needs to focus on getting everyone away from that village. We can handle it. Please… just get them away.”

_“Understood… we will work on getting them away. If there is anything you need contact me.”_

“Thank you.” She mumbled as the channel went silent and Asuka lowered her head. Shinji could hear her mumbling something to herself and took this as an opportunity to edge in closer and maybe provide any comfort he could.

It was weird for him to think that there might have once been a time he’d have feared touching her in any way but he was past that now. He knew her a lot better and he could see what she needed. She might yell and resist a bit and he would adjust for it. Asuka shuddered as his hand made contact with her shoulder.

“Asuka… it’ll be alright.” He said, trying to reassure her.

Asuka shook her head, “No… No it won’t. It won’t be alright Shinji.”

Asuka looked up, “There is something wrong with me Shinji.”

Shinji’s other hand was now on her other shoulder and he slid both of them downwards embracing her over her seat, “Asuka… there is nothing wrong with you.”

She turned to face him, her eye still glowing a bright green, “Look at me Shinji… do you honestly believe that?”

Shinji stared deep into her eyes and nodded firmly, “Yes… I do.”

“Then you’re a bigger idiot than I thought.”

“No.” He said defiantly, “You’re just scared.”

“YES I AM SCARED!” She called out, “I’m scared of what I saw. I… I saw them Shinji… I saw them and I felt them… I felt as if I was one of them and… and I felt what they were feeling. The Nemesis Series… they’re coming for us. They…”

Shinji stepped around and pulled her towards him, “But… if you saw them that’s a good thing right? We have time to prepare for them! You could get those people away to safety?”

Asuka lowered her head and pressed it against Shinji’s chest. Her hands grabbing onto Shinji’s arms as she sat there. A loud sniff coming from her every few seconds.

“I don’t… I don’t want this Shinji. I don’t want to see them… I don’t want to feel them… I just want to be normal. I can feel something inside me and I’m scared.”

“Asuka…” Shinji wrapped him arms around her tightly and started to stroke his hand through her hair, “You’re going to be alright. Misato… she already said the contamination from the Angel isn’t there so this… it might be something else. Maybe related to the Eva, we’ve all experienced strange things right?”

Asuka nodded, “Y-Yeah…”

“So now we can know they’re coming and we can prepare for it. It gives you more time to beat them doesn’t it?”

She sniffed again before looking up at him, “Yeah… you’re right.”

“Whatever this is… we can deal with it afterwards. I’m here for you Asuka, I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“Thank you.” She uttered as she let go of him and sent him back to his seat. She took a moment to steady herself and clear her eyes before scanning the horizon.

“W-We will intercept them here. We don’t have much in terms of personal weaponry for the Eva so we have to improvise. The Nemesis Series aren’t as tough as Angels but they still have an A.T. Field but maybe we can use something here to weaken it.”

Asuka brought up the communications channel again, “Karim… I have a request. Can you allow Unit 02 remote access to the bases defence systems?”

A moment later he spoke,  _“Give me a few minutes and I’ll put the order through. There isn’t much there though, without anyone to load the weapons you’ll only have sixteen surface to air missiles at best and the automated turrets will be little more than a nuisance.”_

“It’s better than nothing. Let me know when it’s done.”

_“Of course.”_

Shinji took a moment to look at the radar again and saw an additional number of targets had appeared. He was counting at least nine and they were coming towards Unit 02 with alarming speed.

“Shinji… when Karim’s people have done so you need to take control of the defences of this base.”

Shinji nodded, “Y-Yeah… I think I can manage that. I’m seeing a few of them approaching. How should I attack them?”

“I’m going to mark a target, when I do so fire two missiles at it and it should hopefully weaken its A.T. Field enough for me to move in and take it out with minimal effort. We continue that until we’re out of missiles. With sixteen missiles that should just leave us with one remaining.”

Shinji nodded, “Okay… I think I can do that.”

Asuka allowed a confident smile to finally cross her lips, “We’ve got this Shinji. We aren’t going to let these bastards past.”

XXX

Ritsuko stepped swiftly into the ready room followed close behind by Takao. She didn’t bother to go to the head of the table or sit down. She turned towards the elder member of the bridge staff and watched as he stood and folded his arms. She could see the suspicion and confusion on his face.

The events of the past few minutes were taking a toll on him as it would be for the other members of the staff. Yet she knew he of all the people on board would be able to take it. More important she knew that she could trust him.

“I’m going to get straight to the point. I need you to do a special task for me but first I need to know, are there people on board the Wunder that you can… not me but you can trust?” She asked.

He raised an eyebrow, “Excuse me?”

“Out of all the people on board this ship right now how many can you personally trust? This is very important.”

“Truthfully only a handful. Those are people I knew before coming aboard this ship. The rest I don’t know. Why what is this about?” He asked gruffly.

“Are any of them in the security division?”

Takao shook his head, “All people I knew from security were swapped out last time we docked at Neo London. Mostly engineering and tech I know.”

Ritsuko frowned, “I see… so it was planned as far back as then…”

“What exactly is this about Akagi?” He straightened himself up, “What is going on with the Wunder? Why have you called me of all people here? If you think I’m planning any sort of mutiny or such things behind your back then you’re wrong.”

“It’s actually the opposite, it’s because we knew of all the people on this ship we could trust you and we need you now.”

“We?”

Ritsuko nodded, “Yes… I don’t have time to go into it but something was set in motion weeks ago and it has led to this moment. When the time comes you… and the others will have the truth but I need you to do something important for me now.”

He frowned and said nothing only eying her suspiciously. She looked up at him, “If not for me do it for Katsuragi… she was the one who picked you for this.”

He considered it for a moment and looked around the room before letting out a sigh. Ever since they had discovered Shinji Ikari he had noticed things were out of sorts on the Wunder and things were only going from bad to worse. Katsuragi’s incarceration and the escape of Shinji and Asuka had only proven that.

Something was definitely not right with WILLE, it was a feeling he had been having for some time. The last time he had spoken to Kaji had implied as much. Only Kaji had never involved him or anyone else. Kaji had been one to do things alone. It was infuriating at times but it was Kaji’s way of getting at the truth whilst protecting others.

At this time as he considered what Ritsuko was saying only one thing popped into his head and that was Kaji’s desire to protect the others. There was someone on board this ship that Takao wished to protect.

“Is Sakura in danger?” Takao asked.

Ritsuko nodded, “We’re all in danger if we don’t act fast but yes she will be. If you want I’ll have her report to the command centre along with Erika.”

“What do you need me to do?”

“Gather a team of people you can trust and get them to the hangar. Once there I need you to inform the security teams to report to their quarters. Tell them that it is for their own personal safety and then ensure they remain in their quarters.” She explained.

“It’ll be difficult, they’re trained and… well the technical guys and engineering teams aren’t. They have basic but in a straight up fight…”

Ritsuko nodded grimly, “I know… but we have no choice. This ship and its crew have been compromised. We made a mistake in Neo-London, we realized it was more than one person too late and now if we don’t get them out of that hangar we risk… we risk losing Katsuragi and Rei Ayanami. That cannot happen.”

Takao stepped forward and frowned, “How long have you known about this?”

“A few days. We knew for a long time that there was a mole on board and reporting back to NERV but we thought it was only one person. We managed to narrow down who it was but we were unable to act until now. Unfortunately we also found out that they have not been acting alone. Somehow they were able to recruit more people to work with them.”

“So that’s why you didn’t send any additional security down with Rei and the others… won’t they suspect something is up?”

Ritsuko shook her head, “As of right now probably not. To them we are acting as we were expected to act. Rei is down there with the mole right now and there is minimal risk of them being known about, at least that’s what they think.”

Takao looked up in shock, “You mean to say Rei is down there with the traitor now?”

She nodded, “Yes and Katsuragi is on her way to ensure that Rei is in no danger and carries out what it is she has to… what she wants to do.”

“What if the traitor is down there now and you don’t know who it is then that means…” he backed away from Ritsuko and shook his head, “No… which one?”

“I don’t know” Ritsuko said bowing her head, “Both of them fit the profile we have drawn up and both have access to everything on the Wunder.”

“No… it can’t be her… I won’t be…” He said clearly referring to Maya.

“I can’t… rule anything out…” Ritsuko said trying to keep her composure, “I found out our quarters had been bugged. She is the only one…”

“This is an absolute mess…” Takao cut in, “You and Katsuragi… you’ve really made things difficult for us all with this. I will do what you ask. You make sure Sakura is safe and the rest of that crew as well. You are this ship’s captain until Katsuragi gets back so that is your job.”

Ritsuko nodded, “I know that.”

“I will report in with you as soon as I have done what you needed. You head back to that bridge and you lead this ship to victory.” He started towards the door before pausing and looking behind him, “Oh and one last thing…”

“What is it?”

“It won’t be her… she’s too in love with you to betray you.” He smiled, “Despite how cold she seems you can see it. She would not betray you or us.”

“I hope you’re right because she is the only thing that keeps me going sometimes.”

XXX

A million and one thoughts were rushing through Misato’s mind as she brought the VTOL down onto the ground for a hard landing. She barely waited for the engines to disengage before she leapt up out of seat and grabbed her pack. She quickly checked the contents, she had gotten no chance to do so back on the Wunder.

Just like Ritsuko had promised in the note it contained a tracking device, flashlight, shoulder holster, a gun with some extra ammunition and a communications device for when the job was complete. She slung the holster over her shoulder and slipped the gun inside before putting her jacket on over it. She bowed her head for a moment.

_‘Okay Rits… all those weeks of planning and deceit, let’s see if it paid off.’_

The door to the VTOL extended outwards forming a ramp and she took a few steps out into the pouring rain. She turned and glanced upwards at the form of Evangelion Unit 08. She could see that it had moved out into the ocean and was clutching its double edged blade firmly in both its hands. She nodded towards it and smiled,  _‘I’m sorry it had to happen this way Mari but… I promise Rei will be brought back to you safe and sound. You have my word.’_

Beyond Unit 08 the enormous winged AAA Wunder was seen disappearing into the distance. Misato turned away from it and wished Ritsuko well in what was to come. She knew that whatever they faced would be tough but her friend could handle it. That was why they had come up with this plan after all.

_‘We save Rei, stop the Nemesis Series and then go and pick up Asuka and Shinji now that they’ve found the tower… should be easy. Just… bring that ship back Ritsuko, remember that I only loaned you it for a time.’_

There was very little time to waste as Misato broke into a run towards the facility. Wind and rain thrashed around her as the complex got closer, the brought herself to a halt on seeing the open door and the unconscious body of Maya Ibuki slumped in the hallway.

Misato pulled out her gun and cautiously moved towards the open door keeping her gun aimed and the flashlight shining within the darkened corridor. On reaching Maya she knelt down and gently rolled the woman onto her back. She shook Maya gently, “Maya… Maya!”

She stayed vigilant looking for any signs of Maya’s attacker as the young woman started to stir. Maya looked straight up at Misato not recognizing her for a moment and then her eyes widened. She tried to back away but her body wasn’t responding, “K-Katsuragi!”

Misato nodded, “Makoto attacked you didn’t he?”

“H-How did you know? What are you doing here? What’s happened to the Wunder?” Maya tried to sound commanding with her questions but her voice had weakened from the attack and grogginess she was feeling.

“It’s a long story Maya and not going to be a pleasant one for either me or Rits to tell you or anyone else.”

Maya frowned, “T-This was... I don’t understand…”

Misato shook her head, “Don’t try, we don’t have time. Rei is in trouble and we need to get her back right now. Can you stand?”

Maya gave a nod, “I… I think so.”

Misato rose to her feet and extended her hand out for Maya. Maya reached out and grabbed hold of it allowing Misato to pull her to her feet. She still didn’t fully understand what was happening. The last thing she remembered was the door opening and then being in an immense amount of pain.

“Makoto attacked me… he…” Maya suddenly realized what this meant, “Makoto was the mole on the Wunder!”

“Yes, it would seem so.”

“Did you know?”

“No.” Misato shook her head, “Not exactly, we had a… profile drawn up and by the time it got to this point we had two people left on it. We weren’t certain who it would be.”

Maya’s tried to not look hurt by Misato’s words but it was hard not to. She knew exactly who those two people were.

“Me or Makoto…”

“I’m sorry…”

“Let’s just go… You said we don’t have much time right?” Maya said flatly.

“I talked Ritsuko into the whole thing, she hated doing it. It’s my fault Ma-“

“It can wait. I… I understand. The person behind it would have had to have had intimate knowledge of the ship and its crew. They had to have connections with NERV before Third Impact right?”

Misato gave another nod, “Yes… we didn’t suspect you are first but then… Ritsuko found your room had been bugged. Only you and she had access to it. She didn’t… neither of us wanted to believe it was you.”

Maya’s face twisted in anger, “That… bastard. He… he tricked me.”

“Huh?”

“Makoto… he was doing research on finding out how you managed to do what you did. He said he needed access to our system. I let him into our room! That’s how.” Maya froze, “I… I helped him! I…”

“It can wait Maya. We all made mistakes but it ends tonight. He gets what is coming to him.”

“Right.” Maya straightened up and nodded towards the entrance, “Let’s get him then.”

XXX

Ritsuko took a moment to compose herself before stepping back onto the bridge of the Wunder. One difficult part was over and with any luck Takao would have the others rounded up soon and without any harm coming to anyone. She looked around the bridge to see Sakura and Erika watching events play out from below central command centre, the same place Shinji had stood all those months ago.

Immediately she was greeted by Kitakami calling from her console, “Captain we are in position and our enemy is closing. We are seeing ten separate entities heading towards us. It looks like the largest of the group has taken up a central position with the others settled slightly further back.”

Ritsuko quickly stepped towards the central point of her structure to give instructions, “Activate our main shields and bring our core fully online. I want as much power as that thing can muster. All offensive systems are to be brought online too, release our drones and scatter them around the ship.”

Tama looked up from his console, “Captain we’ve never brought the core online at 100% before, the maximum we’ve had is 75% is it not too dangerous.”

Ritsuko smirked, “Do it. We’ll be alright.”

_‘Yui Ikari… you want to see your son again don’t you? Protect us and we’ll go back to him.’_

“Y-Yes Captain.”

Ritsuko heard the rumbling of the ships systems as various systems were brought to life. She watched as the area around her transformed into a giant view screen revealing the outside world. The storm outside had gotten more violent and below the Wunder she could see the raging waves. The Wunder was in motion, rotating itself around to face the oncoming attackers.

She glanced down at a tactical display to see the ten members of the Nemesis Series hurtling towards them. The largest member of the group was swimming close to the surface of the water with the others behind and significantly deeper.

Her eyes narrowed, there was little chance the Wunder could do anything to the ones that far underwater but the one near the water’s surface they could hit. The idea of Mari taking on nine targets at ones was not optimal but it seemed they had very little choice at this point.

“Nagara bring us closer to the surface of the water and have us positioned over the largest of the group.”

“Yes.” Nagara called back in acknowledgment.

“Tama when it passes below us hit it with everything we’ve got. We need to get that things attention.” Ritsuko ordered.

_‘Okay Yui… we need you right about now.’_

Nagara brought the Wunder about ten metres above the surface of the water and continued its journey forwards. There were further rumblings as the ships weaponry moved itself into position along the hull.

“Wunders Wings are fully extended and target is approaching!”

They all gazed ahead and caught their first glimpse of the target. From here all they could see was a darkened shadow passing beneath the surface of the water but as it got closer they could see a bright golden glow along specific points. Ritsuko’s initial estimate was that the creature had to be just as long as, if not longer than the Wunder itself.

“NOW!” Ritsuko shouted out as the creature started to pass under the Wunder. There was a pause and moment of silence until each of the cannons along the hull of the ship fired in sequence raining shells down into the raging waters below. Each shell sent crashing waves of water upwards and on detonating caused water to surge upwards towards the bottom of the Wunder.

Ritsuko could see the familiar orange hexagonal glows of an A.T. Field as the shells made their mark but it was also accompanied by a high pitched screech from what had to be the creature itself.

Going by the map the creature had now passed completely under the Wunder but was slowly starting to turn around. Ritsuko gave out more orders, “We’ve got its attention, bring us around and ready our weapons.”

Ritsuko felt the force as the Wunder was brought around. The creature came into sight once again and was clearly starting to rise up with fearsome speed. The Wunder had just finished turning as the creature emerged from the water. It’s snake-like form shooting upwards leaving behind it a huge rush of water.

“EVASIVE ACTION NOW” Ritsuko yelled out as the creature let out a sudden screech and dashed towards them. The Wunder tilted onto its side as Ritsuko struggled to keep her balance. The sound and flashes of A.T. Field colliding with A.T. Field heard and seen all around them.

Now she was able to get a proper look at the strange machine. Its form was very similar to that of a millipede. He body was comprised of a large number of mechanical segments upon which a pair of skinny and pointed legs were attached. Every four or so segments had a glowing golden orb upon it. In its current state the creature rose up out of the water, its uppermost segment pointed down in a cobra-like fashion.

Ritsuko watched as the Wunders drones flew towards the beast and started their own attack. A hail of bullets was rained down on the creature only to meet the A.T. Field.

“Drone fire is having no effect Captain, its A.T. Field is too strong.” Nagara called out.

Ritsuko frowned, “Move in closer and attach from our starboard side with everything we have. Get as close as possible, see if maybe we can neutralize its A.T. Field with our own!”

“Yes” Came the calls from the others.

The Wunder started to move forward and Ritsuko saw more fire being sent towards the creature each one colliding and being blocked by its mighty A.T. Field. Suddenly as they got closer the creature stopped swaying and stood perfectly upright. Without any further warning it shot up out of the ocean and passed over the top of the Wunder. Ritsuko looked up to see each of the dozens of legs on the creature fold themselves inwards.

The golden orbs on the machine beast started to get brighter and Ritsuko yelled out as she realized what was happening, “GET US OUT OF THE WAY, FULL POWER TO OUR ENGINES!”

Several beams of energy were sent out from the orbs as the creature passed over the top of the Wunder. An almighty orange glow lit up the stormy night skies as the Wunders A.T. Field managed to deflect the blasts.

“Our field is weakening Captain! We can’t take much more of that.”

As if hearing them the creature sent more blasts forth before diving into the water. Ritsuko lurched forward as part of the Wunders A.T. Field was pierced and a blast was sent crashing into the hull of the ship.

“Damage report!” She yelled out.

Kitakami called out, “It hit us on the rear port side of the ship Captain! No major damage reported we were lucky.”

Ritsuko nodded, “Bring us around and track its position, next time it appears hit it with everything again. Keep the area it weakened as far away from it as possible.”

_‘Come on… we can do this!’_

XXX

Mari had the weapon clutched firmly in both of Unit 08s hands as she made the attempt to keep her mind clear of any negative thoughts. She had to forget about the facility behind her and what might be happening there. She had to stop her brain from running through the worst case scenarios. Instead she had to stop the enemy from approaching and destroying the damn place. As task that would be made significantly harder by the rain that was pelting down around her.

_'Bloody rain! Can barely see a thing out there.'_

Mari kept her breathing slow and steady before looking around the cockpit at the array of systems available to her. She felt a strange sense of emptiness from within the cockpit, the lack of Rei being there felt strange. Despite her original fears and misgivings about Rei stepping into Unit 08 she had truly enjoyed fighting alongside her. There was something about it that just felt right.

Now however Rei was not there. Rei was down in that facility with two others, one of whom Mari knew to be a traitor to WILLE and was working with NERV. One of whom who would be waiting for their opportunity to strike at Rei. Mari shook her head.

_'Can't think about that now! I need to focus. Come on Mari stop it! Rei is going to be fine, she'll get through this and then you'll have her back. She promised she'd make it up to you when she returned and Rei isn't going to break a promise.'_

Mari sighed before smirking,  _'Make it up to me eh? She has no idea what its going to take to make it up to me. I have plans for you Rei. For now though... music... I need music that'll help me focus.'_

She flicked a switch in her unit and her eyes scanned through a list that had appeared on a screen. She scrolled through the list muttering at various points and shaking her head. Finally she landed on a particular track before nodding. A few seconds later the sounds of a low rumbling similar to a motorcycle being revved up filled the entry plug. The sounds of the bike being revved up continued until petering out and then a fast paced repeating piano pattern started to play.

As this piano part played several other instruments started to join the fray. This happened just in time for Mari to see a golden glow start to appear on the horizon. As the glow got more intense Mari could see that there were nine separate objects coming towards her. With the song now in full flow, an array of guitar, bass, drums and piano playing Mari brought Unit 08 into a more combat like stance.

Her targets started to creep closer and seemed to be a line like formation. Mari clutched the weapon closer to her and prepared to fight. She watched as each one halted themselves and simultaneously rose from the water. Mari frowned deeply watching as nine millipede like entities rose high up into the air, their legs snapping in sequence.

Finally the bombastic opening to the song slowed down and all that was left was the soft piano and the singers’ voice,  _'And I would do anything for love... I'd run right into hell and back.'_

Mari's eyes locked onto her first target. The creature on the far left side of the line. Without giving it a second thought she started to dash forward through the water, her movements slowed by the raging seas but not enough to stop her. Each of the creatures seemed to react to her running but they were too late to do anything. Unit 08 ducked down briefly before sprining up into the air and holding its weapon out behind it.

Mari yelled out as Unit 08 jumped towards the target. The blade was brought down and there was a bright orange flash as A.T. Field smashed against A.T. Field. The creatures was too weak to do anything and emitted a high pitched scream as Unit 08 easily broke through.

There was a loud crack as the steel blade connected with the metallic body of the creature. A further scream from the creature as Mari effortlessly tore through the head like segment of the beast. Bright orange blood gushed forth from the creature into the raging waters below. Mari didn't let go, continuing to cut a vertical line down through the body of the beast until all its legs stopped moving.

Unit 08 landed back in the water and Mari turned towards the remaining monsters with a wide smile on her face.

_'One down... eight to go!'_

XXX

It was or they were getting close. Asuka could feel the beads of sweating forming and starting to roll down her forehead as her hand tightened around Unit 02’s controls. She brought the Eva into the centre of the outposts’ courtyard. It was brightly lit but silent, Asuka and Shinji were the only signs of life in the area.

Karim and his people had been in contact moments before to let them know they had gotten away safely. Work had started on evacuating the village and by all accounts the people within should be safe soon barring any further issues.

Asuka felt some slight relief at hearing that news. It allowed her to focus more on the incoming Nemesis Series without having to worry about civilians getting in the way. Yet despite this relief she was unable to shake the feelings of fear that had built up inside of her.

Something had happened when Karim and the others had activated that device. Her vision had gone blank and she had seen them, no not seen them but seen through their eyes. It was as if she had been one of them. Gliding across the desert towards the outpost, she had been unable to see exactly what they looked like or the number but she knew there was more than one at least. She also knew that they were angry.

_‘Why are they attacking now? Is this random or did… did we manage to do something when we used that device on the necklace?’_

Asuka thought that it might be best to save any questions she had for when this was over. For now she had to focus on the fight and make sure she was prepared for it. She had Unit 02, it wasn’t in perfect condition but it was functional. Karim and his people had done a good job of restoring it as best they could after the last Angel attack.

Also in the cockpit she had Shinji behind her backing her up. Good old invincible Shinji, when it looked bad for him he always found some way to get out of it. She hoped that today would not be the day his luck ran out.

Of course Shinji was in there with her. Asuka Langley Shikinami, the pride of the European Air Force and the best damn Eva pilot there was. Those little boasts were doing nothing to calm her nerves. Memories of previous encounters over the last fifteen years weighing so heavily on her mind.

 _‘Stop it Asuka!’_ She told herself off, _‘This isn’t like those times. Forget anything that happened before… forget the past and focus on the present. You cannot lose!’_

“Asuka…” Shinji spoke softly, pulling her out of her thoughts, “They’re here.”

Asuka looked up and saw the nine snake-like shapes scurrying towards them on the horizon. Each of them reached a distance not far from the outpost and slowly started to rear themselves up into the air. She could sense Shinji’s discomfort at the sight of the creatures at they pulled themselves up to full height.

She gave a quick glance to see his eyes wide open in fear and mouth open in awe. It was hard to blame him, the sight of the creatures was unnerving. They were the size of the Eva itself and along each side were a vast number of spindly legs and snapped at the air.

She narrowed her eyes at him. This was not the Shinji she needed right now, he had to be focused on the task and not overwhelmed by it. She cleared her voice and readied her most commanding tone, “Hey Brat!”

Shinji jumped in fright at the sound of her voice and looked at her, his face blushing with embarrassment, “O-Oh sorry…”

“We’re not scared of those things. We cannot be scared of them. We have fought worse beasts than this right?”

Shinji nodded, “Yeah…”

“So I need your attention on all of this.” She pointed at his controls, “You have access to the bases defensive systems right?”

“Yes I do.” He nodded in acknowledgment.

“Good. When they move within range I want you to fire two surface to air missiles at the one in the middle. Get its attention and then I’m going to move in to attack.” She spoke as calmly as she could.

“Right.” He replied.

She took a deep breath before reaching out to touch his hand, “And Shinji… What you said earlier, thank you.”

She gave him no chance to reply before turning back around to see the targets coming closer towards them. They seemed to be moving rather cautiously perhaps not sure what to make the bright red Evangelion in their way.

Asuka ejected Unit 02s progressive knife from its left shoulder pylon and brought Unit 02 into more of a combat stance. Her gaze shifted to the corners of her display as she waited for confirmation of them being within range of the defensive systems.

_‘Just a little bit more…’_

Now that they were closer she was able to make out more detail than before. Each segment of the creature seemed to be a hexagonal shape with unique mechanical patterns marked upon it. The body that remained on the round was being moved along by the creatures’ legs but that part of the body that had been raised the spider-like legs were snapping at the air. Each of the beings also had a large golden orb situated on its body a few segments down from the top.

“I’m firing now!” Shinji suddenly announced as all nine of the creatures finally came into the bases range. All Asuka could hear was a loud roar and the trembling of the earth as she watched the first of the two missiles accelerate forwards towards its target. Moments later there was another load roar as the second of the two targets sped forwards.

Asuka made no move of her own just yet. Instead she hung back and watched as the first missile approached. As it got closer each of the orbs on the creatures began to glow more fiercley and then they simultaneously let out a golden laser blast at the incoming missile. There was a bright flash as it disintegrated on impact. They were not quite able to repeat the tactic with the second missile and Asuka watched in satisfaction as it continued its journey making contact with its target.

Now she started to run forward as the missile exploded against a solid orange hexagonal shape making the beasts A.T. Field. Asuka nodded,  _‘So that’s some of the tricks these things have.’_

As Unit 02 moved forward she called back to Shinji, “Good work, continue with the plan but bring the missile launches closer together. Fire the next one immediately.”

“Got it!”

There was another loud roar as a third missile was launched towards the incoming creatures. Asuka continued moving forwards closing the gap between them. The first two missiles had not done much she knew but it had at least given an indication of what the machines were capable of. Those lasers had torn the missile to shreds on impact so she knew to be careful of them. Unit 02 was more agile than a missile though. If anything the bases defences could serve as a good distraction whilst she did the bulk of the work.

“Shinji!” She called out again, “Have the automated turrets fire at the enemies focusing on one at a time. Have it cycle the targets for twenty seconds and then move onto the next one. I want to give these bastards something else to think about other than us.”

“Got it.” He replied confidently.

Asuka kept her eyes focused as the third missile pulled ahead of her and the creatures seemed to ready their lasers again. She kept the progressive knife gripped firmly in Unit 02s hand and readied to attack the central machine.

_‘Here we go!’_

XXX

It was late evening when Gendo Ikari rose up from his desk upon hearing the sound of sirens and explosions from outside his building. He ignored the bright flash of white light that suddenly erupted from beyond and reached into the drawer of his desk pulling out a small pistol. He stood and looked towards the window and looked outside to see a number of helicopters flying out to the perimeter of the city.

_‘And so it finally begins. I will be with you soon Yui.’_

Gendo had barely managed to take a few steps away from his desk before his door slid open and Barclay burst in. In the dim light Gendo could see Barclays face was a pure white sheet of fear. The man looked at Gendo and seemed to try to catch his breath before stuttering out what he wanted to say.

“I-Ikari… we have to leave now.” He stated, “Nemesis Series… they suddenly attacked us. We’re getting reports of the other fortress cities being attacked too. We’re fighting back with everything we have but we have to leave.”

“Yes I am quite aware of the situation.” Gendo stated calmly, “It would seem that the promised time is now at hand. I am afraid that I will not be joining you in this. I am needed elsewhere.”

“P-Promised time? Needed elsewhere?” Barclay spluttered, “What the hell is this Ikari? What do you know about this?”

Gendo did not reply instead he took a few steps forward towards the office door only to find himself promptly blocked by an angry Barclay, “People are dying Ikari! This is… not what we agreed on. You didn’t say… this is a massacre! What have you done?”

“I have done nothing. What you are witnessing is an act of defence. They are merely attempting to protect which they have been guarding for so very long. This is the price we have to pay for the perfect world that you desire.”

“Price? The Nemesis Series are attacking not only this city but every major city on this planet! That’s no act of defence this is all out war!” Barclay yelled, “We can barely fight them and you’re acting as if it is our fault?”

“Actions have consequences Director. Did you never stop to think just what the Nemesis Series really were and what they were doing? How they appeared shortly after the Near Third Impact?”

“I was more interested in my species surviving than some machines randomly attacking us.” Barclay stepped back and pulled out a pistol of his own aiming it at Gendo’s chest, “You betrayed us.”

“I did everything you asked. It is not my fault that you did not understand the consequences. Did you not think that in creating a perfect world there would not be some retribution, something in place to stop that. The Nemesis Series are that very thing, a defence mechanism created to stop whichever beings inhabited these lands from intruding and undoing the work their masters produced. A mechanism that was awakened by my son fourteen years ago.”

“Your son! I knew… we should never have let him live. He has doomed us all.”

“On the contrary, my son’s actions are the only thing that will save this world from itself. The sudden appearance of the Series will be in response to him and Shikinami locating the Tower. Now I must go to the Tower, I thank you again for your aid.”

“No…” Barclay backed away, “I… I trusted you Ikari!”

Two gunshots rang out in quick succession as Barclay yelled out. There was a look of horror on his face as the pistol he was holding slowly dropped out of his hand to the ground. He slowly sunk down to his knees before his body slumped forward with blood pouring from the two wounds Gendo had inflicted on him.

Gendo smirked and holstered the weapon and moved towards the exit stepping over Barclays’ corpse. On entering the corridor he saw the elderly Fuyutsuki waiting for him. Fuyutsuki peered into the room and shook his head on seeing Barclay.

“Another death, it is sad that these are the lengths that we must go to.”

“And yet we must to achieve our goal. He was most displeased at the situation and therefore had outlived his usefulness to us. As always your hands are clean of this Fuyutsuki, I do not wish for you to be involved in such things.”

“Of course.” Fuyutsuki sighed knowing that no matter how many times Gendo Ikari said such a thing after an incident like this that his own hands would never be clean. He was as much an accessory to all of this as Gendo was.

“I trust you have been keeping track of the situation out there?”

Fuyutsuki nodded, “Reports came in of a large energy surge in parts of Algeria. It was consistent with that prior usage of Espèrers Regula System. Not long after that more reports were received of earthquakes and more energy surges not dissimilar to that of a large A.T. Field in the Western Bank of Israel. Qumran to be exact.”

Gendo smirked at the news, “We go back to where it all began then.”


	26. Point Of No Return

Mari dodged a golden blast of light as the music played loudly in the entry plug. She had a manic grin on her face and felt that familiar thrill throughout her body that only came from piloting the Eva. She navigated her eighty metre Evangelion through pouring rain and rushing waters. Leaping over enemy fire and steadily pushing towards the huge beasts. It was, dare she think it, fun.

_'And some days it don't come easy!_   
_And some days it don't come hard!_   
_Some days it don't come at all and these are the days that never end!'_

Mari sang along to the song enthusiastically as she made Unit 08 hop backwards once again and looked towards the seven remaining creatures. Sweat was pouring down her forehead and her body was in a significant amount of pain. Her high sync rate, low plug depth and the force of the battle had managed to open a wound on her forehead and yet she was loving each and every second of it.

She continued to grin and once more started to dash forwards with her blade gripped tightly in both of Unit 08s hands. It easily cut through the raging waves towards another of the beings. It sensed her moving towards it and reared up suddenly, its orbs glowed a bright gold before sending a blast towards Mari's position.

Mari had Unit 08 dodge to the left of the first blast. She dodged to the right around a second blast. She ducked Unit 08 down just as a third blast came her way. The titan nearly stumbled over into the water as the blast just managed to glance off of its armour. Mari felt a burning pain in her shoulder as she cried out but she kept going.

She neared the creature, raised the blade up high and swung down as forcefully as she through the middle of the beast. Blood sprayed and gushed from the wound in the creatures bio-mechanical frame. It let out a high pitched squeal and thrashed towards Unit 08. Mari managing to dodge back just in time to get out of reach of its snapping legs.

She wasted no time in raising the blade again and brought it down once more, this time aiming for the sides of the body detaching a number of the creatures lefts. It let out yet another blood curdling scream. Mari readied the blade again, this time going for a horizontal swipe.

"AND NOW YOU DIE!" She yelled out as the blade made contact with the creatures frame. She screamed out putting as much effort in as she could to slice through the body of the beast.

"DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE!"

As she finished yelling the blade finished slicing its way through. There was a spray of blood which covered Unit 08 and splashed into the waters below. Mari immediately turned to see the remaining creatures. She had managed to take down three of them now. That left her with six. The only problem is she could only count five of them ahead of her.

_'Wait, where the hell is?'_

Mari quickly spun Unit 08 around to see the missing creature was moving at full speed towards the island the Golgotha facility.

_'Oh no you bloody well don't!'_

Mari had only one focus now, to stop that creature from reaching land and the facilty. She had to protect Rei. All joy she was feeling previously turned to anger as she started to move towards it. In a moment of hesitation she turned around again to see the remaining five rearing up and preparing an attack.

She was able to dodge Unit 08 out of the way of a first blast but barely had any time to relax when a second one came her way. She had to force Unit 08 into a jump to avoid the third and twist its body around in the air to try to get out of the way of the fourth. Except she was not able to get out of its way.

It connected with Unit 08s midsection and Mari screamed out in pain as a burning spread throughout her chest and to the rest of her body. She released her hands on the Eva's controls as it came crashing down in the water with a loud and sudden thud.

Her blade was swept away by the waves and more pain sent through her body. Mari slowly rolled Unit 08 onto its front. She grabbed the controls again and slowly tried to bring it to its feet. As she looked up she could see the creature nearing the land and the shadows of the remaining five looming over her.

_'No... this... doesn't end like this. I will keep you safe Rei!'_

Mari desperately tried to get Unit 08 back onto its feet. She stumbled forward and then backwards as it slowly but surely rose. All the while the music continued to play.

_'Maybe I'm lonely, that's all I'm qualified to be._   
_That's just one and only, the one and only promise I can keep.'_

XXX

Sakura had her eyes glues to the large screens as the Wunder continued its battle against the large creature. From what she could understand the two seemed to be locked into some sort of stalemate at this moment in time. Despite the size the creature was fast, very fast and the Wunder was struggling to keep up with it.

Her hands tightened on the handles to Erika’s wheelchair and she glanced down at the silver haired girl. Her eyes were wide with fear as she watched the fight continue to unfold. Sakura immediately knelt down and took hold of the girls hand with both of her own. Erika turned and fixed her red eyes on Sakura.

“Erika, are you alright?”

Erika bit her bottom lip before nodding, “We are… alright. It is just that we fear for the lives of the people on board this vessel.”

Sakura mustered up a reassuring smile, “It’ll be fine. We have been in worse situations than this. There was this one time that the end of the world nearly happened. Ritsuko… she’ll get us through it.”

Erika smiled slightly at Sakura’s reassurance and leaned in closer keeping her voice low, “What… is this ship. We are able to sense that it is something different. It does not seem to be Angel but it is something else… something very powerful.”

Sakura frowned and merely shook her head, “The Wunder is… special in many ways but I can’t answer your question. I simply don’t know the full story. It was a gift given to us. Ritsuko would be the one to ask but she is rather busy right now.”

“It feels like… it is in pain.” Erika muttered.

Sakura nodded knowing that it was likely true that this strange vessel known as the Wunder could very well be in pain right now from the battle. Such was the nature of a living ship, “Yeah…”

She looked back up towards Ritsuko just as the Wunder fired off another volley towards the creature. This was immediately followed by the creature aiming another blast back at the Wunder. There were bright flashes of light as the Wunder’s volley hit the beast directly in one of its upper segments ripping a hole clean through the bio-mechanical beings body. Metal and flesh were sent spiralling down into the seas below.

There was little time to cheer the small amount of damage they had done to the enemy as just at that moment the enemies own blasts made contact with the Wunder’s hull. It didn’t seem to be near their position but it was enough to cause the Wunder to shake violently and nearly knock Sakura to the floor.

Sakura saw Ritsuko grip tightly to the railings up above and calmly survey the situation. Somehow Ritsuko had managed to maintain an aura of calm throughout all of this battle. She had delivered her orders calmly and decisively, a stark contrast to the often frantic yelling of Misato. Yet even from his position Sakura could see the worry and anguish in Ritsuko’s eyes. It was going to get to her eventually.

“Captain, we just took a direct hit to one of our hangar bays!” Kitakami called out.

Sakura watched as Ritsuko frowned and folded her arms, “Was there anyone in there at the time?”

“No but we have lost all of our VTOLs that were in there.” Reported the young girl.

“VTOLs can be replaced, people can’t. Have them seal off that section and evacuate the area.” Ritsuko ordered, “Now bring us around for another attack. Increase our speed this time.”

“Captain if we increase our speed we won’t be as accurate, we’re already struggling to hit it as it is.” Nagara answered back.

“I’m aware of that but our A.T. Field has been severely weakened. It would be better to sacrifice some of our accuracy and lessen the risk of damaging the ship.” Ritsuko replied calmly, “Kitakami, put out an alert for all non-essential personnel to stand by to evacuate just in case.”

Ritsuko took this brief moment of reprieve to look down towards the scared bodies of Sakura and Erika stood down beside the command centre. She couldn’t help but feel sorry for the two of them. This was not a place for either of them and yet it was also the safest place for them. Until Takao made his return Ritsuko had to keep them nearby.

It was her hope that he would return soon. Since he had left to do his job he had not checked in. She had heard no reports of anything occurring from the hangar bays but she couldn’t worry about that now. She had to believe that he would be alright and return soon. At this time she had other things to concern herself with, this creature was proving to be frustrating.

_‘This thing has us matched step for step. If we managed to do something to it then it manages to do the same to us. Its A.T. Field goes down it takes ours down, if we damage it then it damages us. We need something else, we need… I need to take drastic action but… will it work?’_

Ritsuko lurched forward and reached for the railings just as another blast from the creature slammed into the hull of the Wunder and shook the ship more violently than before. Around her a few consoles sparked and her crew were very nearly knocked out of their seats.

 _‘If we weren’t above the damn ocean we could have deployed the TARKUS Units to help us in this. Of course WILLE wouldn’t provide us with the equipment we requested though. Damn them!’_ She thought to herself.

“Captain, that last hit was near to the engineering decks. I’m getting reports of injured down there.” Kitakami reported.

 _‘Shit, that’s all we need.’_ Ritsuko thought as she heard Sakura’s voice from down beside her.

“Injured?” Sakura called out, “I need to get back to the medical bay! They will need treatment!”

Ritsuko calmly stepped back from the railing as the Wunder flew past the creature and fired off another volley of fire. It slammed once again into the body of the being sending more of its armour and body crashing down into the ocean. The beast let out a loud scream but didn’t seem to be slowed one little bit. It moved upwards and flew over them. Despite its body now full of holes with its orange blood leaking out into the oceans below it kept coming back for more.

Ritsuko looked once again down at Sakura, the girls pleading eyes looking back up at her. She remembered her promise to Takao to keep Sakura safe and shook her head, “No, there are staff in there to help.”

“My staff! They need me right now!” Sakura pleaded.

“I can’t let you leave this bridge Lieutenant.” Ritsuko said, “It is far too dangerous.”

“Why because Takao said so?” Sakura yelled back, “To hell with him. I know he means well but… I’m not abandoning my duty. If it’s so dangerous then… give me a weapon or something. I can’t stay here whilst there are injured in my medical bay. I know what Takao said but…”

Ritsuko could see the frustration growing in the girls face as Kitakami reported more people had been injured. Sakura was of course right and as an officer of the Wunder she knew the risks to herself when she took the assignment. Her staff and the Wunder needed her there. She turned towards Aoba, “Aoba… escort Sakura and Miss Pearson to the medical bay immediately and watch over the two of them.”

Aoba nodded, “Of course.”

“Thank you.”

Ritsuko looked down at Sakura again, “That is the best I can do. If there is any trouble you are to return here immediately. I don’t want to have to answer to Takao.”

Sakura smiled, “I know… thank you.”

Aoba got up out of his seat and exited the command centre passing by Ritsuko as she turned to look at the large screens again. She then looked down towards the three remaining members of her bridge crew.

She couldn’t help but feel that if she ran this scenario through the old MAGI systems she’d be given a significantly low chance of succeeding. Just as it had been against each and every Angel they had fought. Of course the MAGI was always lacking certain details.

Ritsuko and the Wunder were not quite done yet. There was still perhaps one card she had left to play. It was dangerous and could put them all at risk but then again what plan of theirs didn’t? She took a step forward and placed her hand down on the railing considering her next course of action.

_‘Is this the right thing to do? Will it even work, it’s untested… it should never need to be used. That much power and yet… is this what Katsuragi would do? Would she even be questioning herself like this or would she just go for it and deal with the consequences afterwards?’_

She moved towards her command console and started to speak to the others, “Kitakami, Tama, Nagara… In a few moments you are going to receive an alert on each of your consoles. Do not worry, this is expected behaviour. It’s time we ended this.”

Tama looked around at Ritsuko in confusion, “An alert… what are we doing?”

“We’re taking a risk.” Ritsuko replied plainly. Her console sprang to life awaiting her input and she spoke, “Acting Captain Ritsuko Akagi of the Wunder. I am initiating NAUTILUS. Authorization Akagi-1701.”

“NAUTILUS? What the hell is NAUTILUS?” Nagara asked as the alert appeared on her console as Ritsuko had warned them. It was a simple prompt with the word NAUTILUS appearing in large text and asking each of them for their authorization coders. They each exchanged a glance at one another before Ritsuko explained.

“NAUTILUS is… a means of tapping into the full power of the Wunder and its core. It was supposed to be a last resort, truth is we don’t know what will happen when we unleash it. There are countermeasures in place for risks I have thought of but…”

Each console suddenly turned to green as all three of the bridge crew entered their codes. She couldn’t hide her smile, “I guess the speech wasn’t necessary?”

A few more alerts flashed up around the command centre and the ship started to shake. There was a sound of howling from behind them. On the screen the creature rose up out of the water again but it seem to be preparing to attack. Instead it seemed to be contemplating the Wunder, wondering why it had now come to a complete stop.

“Captain… we stopped!” Nagara said with a panicked voice, “We… I can’t move us.”

Ritsuko could feel her own heard pounding in her chest as she nodded, “I know…”

_‘It’s started but… how long will it take?’_

Suddenly the command centre fell into total darkness. The only light came from the stormy skies and glow of the creature. Panic was starting to set in between the three members of the crew as they exchanged fearful glances with one another. Ritsuko remained still with her arms folded but knowing fine well she was just as scared as they were.

_‘Have I made a mistake in using this? Will you save us this time Yui or will you condemn us? After the way we treated your son I don’t blame you but… he needs us now. We can help him… so help us!’_

As if responding to her thoughts the shaking of the ship suddenly intensified and the lights came back on in the command centre. Tama looked down at his console shouting out the readings in pure astonishment, “I-I don’t know what’s happening but… our A.T. Field it’s… back at 100% no wait… it’s at 150%... 200%... 400% power!”

Fed up of waiting for the Wunder to make the next move the creature lurched forward and fired another volley towards the ship. Bright hexagonal flashes more intense than any A.T. Field they had seen before lit up and sky and absorbed the blasts with ease. Ritsuko’s jaw nearly dropped as even she was finding it difficult to hide her amazement.

Tama called out again, “The ships core… Captain it’s…”

He was cut off by a deep feral growl sounding all around the command centre. The Wunder suddenly sped forward and unleashed a torrent of fire from the wings of the ship. They flew towards the creature hitting a number of the segments and exploding on impact into bright white crosses of light.

The creature screamed out in pain and the Wunder seemed to roar in triumph. It swayed towards the Wunder trying to snap at it as it flew by. It unleashed another volley only to once again be denied by the powerful A.T. Field of the Wunder.

The Wunder let out a final roar which was accompanied by a loud cracking sound from beneath them. Ritsuko gripped the railing tightly as Kitakami yelled, “Captain… It’s… Unit 01… is…”

Ritsuko nodded, “It’s free of the restraints we put in place. I know… ignore it for now. Just a little bit longer.”

Ritsuko hoped that was the case as the Wunder swooped around and unleashed another torrent of fire at the creature. It hit the creature tearing more holes into it and more crosses of light on impact. The creature swayed from side to side before finally letting out one last scream and sinking deep into the waters below.

Ritsuko bowed her head,  _‘Yui… thank you.’_

XXX

Shinji and Asuka both let out loud screams of pain as Unit 02 collided hard with the building and fell to the ground leaving a large Evangelion sized hole in the wall. So far using all of the resources available to them they had been able to take down three of the enormous millipede like creatures. The remaining six were proving to be more difficult.

It seemed that with each creature they destroyed it was somehow managing to strengthen the others. Asuka was noticing the strength of the remaining creatures A.T. Field had increased and the creatures seemed be moving faster than before.

She gripped her controls and shook her head,  _‘Damn it… I can’t get it close enough anymore and the bases defences are completely out of anything we can use. I can’t do this. I can’t! I can’t! I can’t! Damn it! I’m going to lose again! DAMN IT!’_

She curled her hands into fists and hit the controls of the Eva and nearly jumped in fright as she felt Shinji’s hand come to rest on her shoulder, “A-Asuka… we can still do this!”

She turned slowly, her eyes betraying her fear and her mouth slightly agape to see Shinji. He was sat in his seat and visibly in a lot of pain, sweat ran down his forehead but he was smiling reassuringly at her, “You can do this Asuka.”

“You idiot.” She almost snarled, “How… how can you stay so damn positive? Look at us, we have no weapons and we can’t even get close to them. There are six left and… just… how?”

“Because I love you.” He answered looking deep into her eyes.

“Stupid… idiot Shinji…” She muttered as she blushed and averted her gaze from him. She turned to look around at the advancing creatures. They had stopped their advance for the moment and had instead slowly retreated to some distance outside the outpost. It was a move that angered her in a way. To her it felt like she was being toyed with, like at any moment they might swoop in and finish the job.

“Those bastards.” She spat, “They’re taunting us. Shinji… do we have anything besides the damn progressive knife left?”

Shinji looked around him at the various displays and shook his head, “The base has nothing left but our positron cannon might still work. It’s still damaged but I think it can get one or two shots off. Out needle gun is there but we only have a few spikes left.”

“Of course we are…” Asuka sighed, “Espèrer wouldn’t have been able to repair the positron cannon as that was Akagi’s thing. Not like they could have restocked the spikes either. They were barely able to redo and repaint the armour.”

Asuka was finally able to bring Unit 02 back onto its feet. The behemoth stumbled forward a bit before Asuka was finally able to regain balance. The battle was starting to take a major toll on her body. She was aching from the hits she had taken and from trying to keep up with the machine enemies.

“Shinji…” She said, “Pick a target.”

“Huh?” He replied.

“Out of the remaining six targets choose one of them for me.”

“Umm… the one on the far right I guess.”

Asuka gave a simple nod of the head, “Okay… one on the far right it is then. Bring the positron cannon online and get a lock on the target. I’m going to start moving towards the damn thing and as soon as you’re able to fire at it. Have the spikes ready to fire as well.”

“Got it.” Shinji replied as Asuka started to move Unit 02 forwards. She grunted as she narrowed her eyes and focused on nothing but the target. Unit 02 broke into a jog and then a sprint as it tried to close the gap between it and the enemy.

Seeing Unit 02 getting closer all six of the enemies started to rear up. She could see the golden orbs on their body begin to burn a little brighter. She saw a flash as the first one released a blast of energy her way. Her heart was beating quickly and loudly within her chest as she tried to focus all her efforts on getting through this.

The blast came and she had Unit 02 dodge to the left of it. She instantly watched for the second blast that had already been released. It was aimed ever to slightly lower than the first and she had Unit 02 jump into the air over it as it hit the solid earth below.

A third attack was already on its way but she had anticipated it. She curled Unit 02 up into a ball and the third attack passed narrowly under the feet of the Evangelion. She extended Unit 02 out again and came to land on the ground.

The fourth blast was on its way and coming straight for her. Using the momentum from the jump she rolled Unit 02 off to the side of the blast and on coming out of it immediately hopped over the fifth attack.

They were getting closer now, only a short way to go. Shinji called out from behind her, “I’m firing now!”

Shinji pulled the trigger with some force and the shoulder mounted cannon fired a shot towards the creature they had selected. Asuka kept moving forward but watched as the singular and powerful shot from the positron cannon fired forward. It crossed what remained of the battlefield and tore a hole straight through the creatures A.T. Field as if it were nothing.

The creature had little time to react as the shot from the rifle scored a direct hit on the large orb on its body. It let out a loud howl of pain as a hole was torn through its body where the orb once was. Liquid poured out of the wound and Asuka now had her opportunity.

She brandished the progressive knife in front of her. There was absolutely nothing left to stop her now. She plunged the knife deep into the head of the creature and sliced down. With the Eva’s other hand she gripped tightly and started to try to tear the head segment apart. There was a loud howl from the creature as Asuka continued her assault.

Liquid sprayed from the wound but Asuka refused to let go. She summoned up all the strength she could to tear the damn thing apart. Finally the saw the creature go limp. All its legs stopped moving and she let go of it watching as it fell to the ground.

Asuka quickly spun Unit 02 around to see another creature looming overhead. She called out, “SHINJI! FIRE THE DAMN SPIKES NOW!”

Shinji complied and they both watched as the remaining spikes stored in Unit 02s shoulder pylon were sent flying into the next creature. They ripped through the A.T. Field and Asuka was already running towards it. She gave it absolutely no time to react and plunged the progressive knife deep into the golden orb on its body.

She twisted the knife as deeply as she could screaming out in anger. From behind her she could sense the other four starting their approach. She could see the shadows they were casting on the ground and knew they were rearing up.

Asuka quickly had Unit 02 pull the knife out of the creature’s body. Unit 02 jumped back as far as it could just as the remaining four machines fired simultaneous in the direction of their companion. There was a bright flash as their comrade was instantly vaporised on contact with the four blasts. Asuka and Shinji both screamed out as the Unit 02 was caught up in the explosion and thrown backwards.

The Eva hit the ground hard once again and Asuka could only watch in horror as it lost its grip on the progressive knife and it was sent flying far away. Asuka quickly snatched at her controls and tried to will Unit 02 to its feet. Around her was the sound of alerts and the panels were flashing red. Unit 02 didn’t respond to her commands.

She pulled the controls back and forward a few times and screamed out in frustration as the Eva refused to move. She looked through the cockpit to see the creatures starting to move towards them. She tried to move the Eva again but nothing happened.

"A-Asuka..." Shinji started to speak.

"No..." Asuka said, her voice barely above a whisper, "No... NO NO NO NO NO!"

Her voice got louder with each time she spoke, she contiinued to pull at the controls before slamming her fists down on them in anger.

"We... we were winning damnit!"

"A-Asuka..." Shinji spoke again, "We can... we can escape... there are vehicles or something we can escape in."

"NO!" Asuka growled and gripped the controls tightly, "I'm not running away! I'm not losing... not again... not to... not to those things...I... I can't... I won't! I REFUSE!"

She could feel the anger continuing to build up inside of her. Suddenly something snapped, she felt a strange feeling rush through her body and Unit 02 started to get back onto its feet. She brought the machine up and fixed her gaze on one of the creatures.

"Asuka! We should run, the village is safe... we can get back there..."

"NO!" Asuka yelled at him, "I'M NOT RUNNING AWAY!"

Asuka narrowed her eyes, "After everything those bastards have put me through... I'm going to kill them, I'm going to tear them apart. I'm not going to lose to them again."

Shinji's eyes widened with horror as Evangelion Unit 02 took a slow shambling step forward. He glanced down at his displays and saw just what was happening to the Eva. He swallowed and started to tremble as he looked up to see his fears confirmed as Asuka had Unit 02 take another step forward.

The screens flickered back to life and he saw their plug depth starting to increase. Asuka was already close to the limit before. The two of them had pushed the Eva incredibly hard but now it was creeping upwards. There was a sick feeling within his stomach as he realized what was happening.

He looked forward and Asuka was hunched over her controls and snarling. He wasn't able to see her face from his angle but there was a green glow from the left hand side of her face. He realized he had to stop this, he couldn't let Asuka do this. This was the same as his mistake all those years ago. He understand why she was doing it, why she was about to lose herself like this but he couldn't let it happen.

"ASUKA NO!" Shinji called out but she ignored him. Instead the plug depth continued to climb. He tried again, "ASUKA STOP IT! YOU... YOU'LL..."

"I DON'T CARE!" Asuka yelled back at him, "I WON'T LET THEM KILL YOU OR ANYONE ELSE ANYMORE... IT ENDS HERE!"

More panic set in for Shinji as a sight so very memorable for him started to set in around the Entry Plug. It was the sight he had seen in a number of his nightmares, the Entry Plug going dark and an array of blue light starting to stream in all around them. Shinji frantically looked around the plug and started to get out of his seat.

"NO ASUKA! DON'T!"

"I HAVE TO DO THIS!"

"ASUKA!" Shinji screamed out as the plug reached its criitical point. Asuka screamed out in more rage and anger and continued to push further onwards. Shinji felt his heart beating rapidly in his chest. Tears were forming in his eyes as he knew exactly what was about to happen.

Outside of the entry plug Evangelion Unit 02 was standing tall and a halo of white light had now appeared above its head. The remaining members of the Nemesis Series had stopped their approach and were now backing away as if they were fearful of what this enraged Evangelion was doing.

Suddenly a shot of light burst up into the sky and exploded like a firework, only it left a curious black hole in the sky. There was a further flash of light as the circle rapidly expanded. Unit 02 shambled forward a little bit as dust and debris started to swirl around it being pulled up into the portal above.

All four of the Eva's eyes were lit up in a bright green. The bottom half of the armour on the head had become detached and was hanging loosely. All that remained there was a haggard grin of white light.

Back inside the entry plug Shinji had gotten out of his seat and had scrambled around to where Asuka was. He was desperately trying to pull her away from the controls and force her to stop.

"I WON'T... LET YOU DO THIS ASUKA!"

Asuka's arm swung out and shoved the boy away and to the floor of the plug. He ignored the pain and got back up and scrambled forward once more. Asuka thrashed her arm towards him but he grabbed hold of it tightly. He didn't know if he was hurting her but at this point that didn't matter. He had to get her to stop at all costs.

He moved in closer, this time putting his arms around her back and trying to pull her off of the seat. She fought against him, her fist hitting him in the upper arm and shoulder. He ignored the pain and kept going trying to use his free hand to stop the incoming blows.

"ASUKA! You have to stop! Please... don't make the same mistake I did! Don't..."

"I HAVE TO DO THIS IDIOT SHINJI!" She snarled at him once again, her eye was now glowing a bright green and her teeth had transformed into jagged points. All that was on her face was pure rage and she continued to struggle with him. Finally Shinji grabbed both of her arms and summoning up all of his strength held them above her head.

"Asuka please..." He felt tears running down his cheeks, "Please... I don't... want you to do this."

There was a breif moment where it looked as though she was going to try to attack him. Instead she looked back at him and her expression almost softened. Then she screamed out. Shinji let go of her hands in shock and watched as she clutched the left side of her face in pain. There was a bright flash of light as suddenly the scene around them was transformed.

Shinji looked to see that they were still in the cockpit of the Eva and both he and Asuka were there but they were no longer at the outpost. Instead they were in a large sprawling field of sunflowers.

"W-What happened?" He muttered.

He looked down again to see Asuka had stopped clutching her face, her eyes and teeth had returned to normal and she was looking around at the sunflowers with a complete look of shock and confusion on her face. Her face had turned as white as a sheet and her entire body was trembling. Shinji leaned forward and put his arms around her.

He was confused as to what was happening. He had gotten Asuka to stop and get back to normal in some way but now they were here. Had the Eva brought them here? Was he too late or was something else happened.

For now that didn't seem to matter. All that mattered was the trembling and scared girl he held in his arms. He let her snuggle into his shoulder and finally a singular word escaped her lips.

"Mama..."

XXX

Rei slowly opened her eyes to find herself floating within a dense orange fog. She glanced down at her body to find that attacked to her wrists and legs are a number of restraints loosely keeping her in place. She tried to raise an arm but only managed to get it half way up before the she could force it no more.

She could feel something around her neck along with a dull pain around the back of her head. As she lifted her head up she could see a thin transparent tube attached to the top of her glass prison.

The fog within the chamber slowly started to lift and she immediately recognized herself as being within one of the LCL Vats towards the centre of the facility. This was the room that she had been born in that second time. It was a large room and she was just able to turn her head enough to see the large rectangular tanks filled to the brim with LCL.

Rei could make out vague humanoid shapes within those rectangular chambers. She knew instantly what they were.

_'Those things... they are all... me.'_

Her body felt extremely weak, she tried to move her limbs again but a combination of the weakness she was feeling along with the restraints meant she made no progress. Instead she tried to turn to look at another section of the room.

Now her eyes were fixed upon another circular tank much like her own prison. It was filled with LCL and was much clearer than the rectangular chambers. Within this tank she could see the nude forms of another members of the Ayanami Series.

The figure had its eyes open but they were completely devoid of any life. The body was somewhat hunched over, its arms hanging before it and Rei could see the same restraints and devices hooked up to it that she had.

Rei saw another person enter the room and she recognized it to be Makoto Hyuga. He gave a quick glance towards Rei. He eyes were cold and devoid of any emotion. If he regretted his actions or felt anything at all about them it was not written on his face. He turned his eyes away from her and quickly moved towards the console positioned between the two tanks.

Rei thought she saw something flash up on the screen but before she could make anything out white hot pain shot through her neck and down her spine. She screamed out in agony as her body violently shook with whatever it was Makoto was doing to her. For a brief moment it stopped and she tried to catch her breath. Her vision was hazy and she felt the tears streaming down her face.

This was only a brief reprieve. Moments late the feeling spread throughout her again only this time it moved up to her head. She screamed out once again and thrashed wildly in her restraints. There was a sensation like tiny daggers through her head and her vision continued to blur.

Finally everything went black but the pain did not subside, there was a brief flash of light. Rei started to see images flash before her eyes. Their arrival on this island, the briefing before coming down here, her and Mari arguing, her and Mari sleeping together, confessing her feelings to Mari, seeing Shinji again, being back at NERV and many more stretching back to when she was first born.

The images swirled around her as her body continued to convulse within the tank. She let out another scream, “NO! GET… OUT OF MY MIND PLEASE… GET OUT!”

Suddenly the pain subsided and her vision slowly started to return. She felt a wave of nausea pass through her but she managed to hold it back for the moment. Her breathing was ragged as she looked up to see Makoto was moving towards a different terminal.

“Please…” She uttered, “Please… don’t do this…”

She didn’t know if he could hear her. If he could it made no difference.

“I… don’t want to die again… I don’t want to be reborn just leave me be.” She pleaded.

Once again it got no response, she felt more tears flow, “Don’t make me forget about them… don’t make me forget about her I… it won’t work. I’ll still remember. In the back of my mind it’ll always be there and… I’d rather die than that. Please…”

Her pleas had no effect on Makoto and she felt the panic starting to set in. She knew what was going to happen to her and she knew there was nothing she could do to stop it now. He was going to strip her of everything she was. Going to strip away her thoughts, memories and her very identity and stuff her into another shell. She would be reborn but she would be under their control.

_‘Asuka… Shinji… the Wunder… Akagi… Erika… Mari, the person who I love. He means for me to forget about them all. He means to use me as his tool once again and never let go. He wants me to help fulfil his goal. I can’t… I won’t let that happen. I’ll fight him… I’ll… I’ll fight…’_

She sobbed,  _‘Help me… Mari.’_

She hung her head down as Makoto moved towards the first terminal again. She could feel that he was near the end of what it was he had to do. Everything she was had been uploaded and was ready to be put into the next body. He gave her a final glance and shook his head. His hand reached out to tap at some of the buttons. He looked up and then a look of horror spread across his face. His head suddenly snapped back in sickening fashion.

Rei watched his body fall backwards and with her eyes wide open turned to see Misato Katsuragi spring into the room with her gun pointed right where Makoto had fallen. Following closely behind was Maya who upon seeing Rei dropped her own weapon and ran over to the chamber. She gave Rei a glance and seemed to yell something but it was no noise made it through the glass of the chamber.

Maya quickly ran to the entrance of the tank and pulled a huge lever next to the door. She pulled the door open and LCL gushed out of the tank covering Maya’s legs and the surrounding area. The woman pushed through it climbing into the tank and starting to work on undoing the restraints keeping Rei in place.

“Rei.” Maya put a warm hand on Rei’s cheek and looked deep into her eyes, “Rei look at me. This might hurt, if it does squeeze my hand as tightly as you can okay.”

Rei nodded, “Y-Yes.”

“Good.” Maya slid her hand into Rei’s right hand and reached around to the back of Rei. Rei felt a strange sensation at Maya started to slowly pull at the needle that had been inserted into the base of her neck. She cried out and started to squeeze Maya’s hand as she had been instructed to do.

“Just a little bit more.” Maya said reassuringly.

True to her word it was just a little bit more and the needle was finally out if Rei. Maya wrapped her arms around Rei hugging her, “That was the worst of it Rei. I’m going to undo the restraints now.”

“Okay.”

“Was there anyone else with Makoto?”

“No. It was just him.”

“Are you sure?” Maya asked.

“Y-Yes… It… a lot.”

Maya quickly worked on undoing Rei’s restraints before putting out both arms and catching her as she fell forward. She gently lifted Rei up and carried her out of the tank before placing her down and propping her up against the side of the chamber.

“I am sorry… I was not able to protect you.” Maya bowed her head, “This is my fault.”

“N-No… not you…” Rei started to speak but instantly closed her mouth as she felt another wave of nausea rush through her. She managed to keep it down but took a few deep breaths to steady herself.

Seconds later after having checked the room Misato was now kneeling down in front of Rei. She put both arms around Rei and pulled her into a gentle hug. She looked across at Maya, “It looks like he was alone. I found a communications device on him but it was just white noise on the other end. Ikari… is probably long gone now.”

“Do think they knew something was wrong?” Maya asked.

Misato shook her head, “I don’t know, possibly. He probably had a plan in place just in case something happened to Makoto. They will have had a way to get the Ayanami model away from here though. Probably another vehicle stored in the facility.”

There was a brief moment of silence before Maya bowed her head again, “Captain… I am sorry for this. I should have been more aware.”

Misato held Rei closer to her as Rei put her own arms around Misato and enjoyed the warmth of the hug, “No… There was nothing more you could have done Maya. You did all that was expected of you. Makoto… he took us all by surprise and the blame lies with me. If I hadn’t have…”

Misato trailed off as she looked down at the trembling girl who was hugging her tightly. She ran a hand through Rei’s blue hair.

“It doesn’t matter. It’s over now and we can analyse this later. We should get back to the Wunder immediately. Contact Akagi…”

“No.” Rei suddenly spoke up, “Not yet.”

“Rei?” Misato said.

Rei gingerly pulled herself away from the hug and got onto her sweet. She swayed for a moment as both Misato and Maya made motions to steady her.

“There is something… I have to do. Something important. I can’t… let him use me again.”

“Rei what do you mean?” Misato asked.

Rei said nothing as she started to slowly walk towards one of the terminals. She gave Makoto’s corpse a brief glimpse before turning her head away, the sight of it nearly knocking her sick once again.

Once at the console she took a moment to look around at the tanks containing her spares. She looked back towards the console.

“After this… I will no longer be replaceable.”

With those words she started to access the system. Misato and Maya looked on curiously as a dim red light started to shine above each of the tanks.

Misato stepped forward, “Rei… what are you doing?”

“My name… is Rei Ayanami. I cannot… be replaced.”

Misato felt a cold chill run down her spine at Rei’s words. She looked around as the bodies in the tanks came into focus. Without any warning each individual body started to slowly disintegrate starting from the bottom all the way up to the top. Dozens of emotionless clones evaporating before their very eyes.

It was a strangely quick process and soon all that was left in the chamber was the sound of one girl’s voice.

“I am Rei Ayanami.”


	27. Strange Deja Vu

Misato entered the meeting room and took a small moment to look around. It felt like it had been an eternity since she had last stepped into her as captain of the AAA Wunder. Ritsuko, as expected was already in the room and was stood by the seat at the head of the large table.

From here Misato could see just how tired Ritsuko looked. She wondered if the woman had managed to sleep at all in the past week. At the same time she suspected this would be the case for a lot of the crew. So much had happened recently, parts of it Misato knew about and parts of it she did not yet know the full details.

She had decided that now would be the time to clear the air with certain members of her crew. Events over the last year such as Shinji's return had led to this moment. Misato knew she had to take the blame for some of it. She knew that in certain cases if she had put her fears to one side and acted sooner maybe they wouldn't be in this position. Maybe they could have found another solution but it didn't matter now.

She shot Ritsuko a quick smile and made her way around to the head seat.

"So how was it?" Misato asked, "Being the Captain of this thing for an entire month?"

Ritsuko smirked and shook her head, "It was... an experience. Not one I'll be willing to repeat any time soon. I think I much prefer where I am now."

Misato nodded, "Under the circumstances you did a fine job. I am sorry that I had to put you through all of that."

"It was a plan we both agreed on. It was the only way to ensure the safety of the ship but also Asuka and Shinji."

"I just hope that people can forgive us. There has been too much miscommunication floating around recently, too many lies... we need to put an end to it." Misato said.

"I'm confident that you should have no problem. Myself however... I should have come clean about my role in things a long time ago."

Misato shook her head, "Forget about that now Ritsuko. We have to move forward, we... did what we had to do. Just as I'm sure you did what you had to do when you risked the entire ship and activated the NAUTILUS protocol."

Misato had a wide grin on her face as she turned to Ritsuko. Ritsuko gave her something of a sheepish smile before sitting down.

"Y-Yes..."

"A previously untested system that we built into the ship that would grant the control system of the ship, aka Evangelion Unit 01, the ability to unleash its full potential." Misato continued, "I didn't even realize the system was complete yet. I thought we still had to run some field tests and perfect the control methods when it is in that state."

Ritsuko lowered her head, "Yeah... about that..."

"Are you saying that you..." Misato smiled, "Doctor Ritsuko Akagi dared to do something so risky and illogical, something that could have at best won us the first and at worst caused Unit 01 to awaken again?"

Ritsuko nodded, "Yes... I recognized how reckless I was in using NAUTILUS especially given that the system wasn't complete. Yet I also realized that each and every time I've pointed out how reckless it would be for someone else to take an action like that it somehow managed to work out... I figured that it'd be worth casting my doubt aside for once and went for it."

"Feels good doesn't it?" Misato asked with a grin.

"No." Ritsuko replied flatly, "It was terrifying. I didn't know if I was on the path to saving us or about to open the gates to hell."

Misato laughed, "Well I guess now it's only me who has to worry about making stupid decisions and I will of course be fully expecting you to challenge me on any of them too."

"Would it make a difference if I did?"

"Probably not but it's always nice to hear a second opinion before I do something reckless. Maybe one day I'll change my mind before doing something like that."

Her expression turned more serious as she looked around the battle damaged room. This was certainly a far cry from the pristine looking meeting room they had used when the Wunder had originally launched.

An attempt had been made to clean up the room, the glass from the smashed cabinets and pictures had at least been cleaned up. Yet in their place were empty gaps on walls and broken cabinets piled up against the wall.

"I went to the medical bay before coming here. I wanted to see how Rei and Mari were doing." Misato spoke up.

"How is Rei doing?” Ritsuko asked with her eyes lowered towards the ground. She couldn’t imagine just how Rei was feeling right now knowing what the girl had been through in that facility.

“She seemed alright, I said if she needed anything to just ask but she said she already had what she needed and thanked me anyway. She seemed… happy. Did you know what she was going to do?”

Ritsuko nodded, “Yes I did. I told her that this was where WILLE or at least Ikari was sending us and when she found out she told me that she wanted to destroy it. She wanted to put an end to the Ayanami series once and for all. I… allowed her to do that. I put her in danger but I could not deny her that request.”

“I see.” Misato stifled a shudder at the memory of seeing all of those clones of Rei Ayanami disintegrating before her, “I suppose… it was for the best. It means she can no longer be under his control.”

“Indeed, I also believe that… it allows her to feel more human… more connected to the rest of us. She always knew if she died she could potentially be replaced. It would be unpleasant but the possibility was there. Now she is like the rest of us. She is unique.”

“Many would leap at the opportunity to transcend death like that.” Misato mused, “Yet in her situation I can understand. Those things only served as a reminder of her differences to the rest of us and the past she tried to break free from.”

“What about Mari?” Ritsuko changed the subject, “How was she?”

"Mari is still out. She took quite a beating in the fight, apparently if the Nemesis Series hadn't stopped when they did she might not have..." Misato shook her head, "Well it didn't happen so it isn't worth thinking about. Do we know why they stopped?"

Ritsuko frowned, "Not yet. I can only theorize that the larger one that that we were fighting in the Wunder might have been acting as some sort of control unit for the others. When we destroyed it the link to the others was also cut off."

"Seems solid." Misato nodded, "I saw another new face in the medical bay. I presume this was the pilot of Evangelion Unit 04?"

"Yes, Erika Pearson. I apologize that I have not been able to give you full details of her arrival nor who she really is yet. After the incident that resulted in her retrieval I thought it best to..."

"It's fine." Misato gave a wave of her hand, "We took enough of a risk with that display for the cameras and you passing me the notes. Anything beyond that we might have risked our entire plans being uncovered. It is something we can discuss later."

"I am... sorry for slapping you during that."

Misato chuckled, "I said we had to make it seem real didn't I? Make it seem like our friendship had completely dissolved. We couldn't risk them knowing we had planned the entire thing out after all. That's why we had to resort to the handwritten stuff, there wasn't any way of them seeing or getting hold of that."

As Misato finished speaking the door to the meeting room opened once again and the invited memebrs of the crew started to come into the room. First was Maya who, much like Maya looked incredibly tired. There were red blotches around her eyes where it was clear she had been crying. She was trying now to wear that mask she had done so for many years but there was still the faintest trace of sadness on her face.

Yesterday was the first day Misato had seen Maya be emotional in quite some time. She had known through conversations through Ritsuko that Maya had a tendancy to keep her emotions bottled up except in the presence of Ritsuko herself. To others she tried to stay calm and distant. On the way back to the Wunder Maya had cried silently, not only that but she had taken to holding Rei and comforting the girl all the way back to the Wunder.

Behind her was Shigeru Aoba, he also looked extremely tired. Misato made a note to speak to him privately at some point about what had happened. It can't have been easy for him to learn that one of his oldest colleagues and friends was a traitor like that. He had for many years been something of a rock for the crew. Aoba's attitude after Third Impact was very much to accept what had happened and work towards rebuilding it.

He had been one of the first to offer his services to WILLE along with Misato, Ritsuko and Maya. He had always been there for listening and was something of a role model for the younger members of the staff.

Takao entered the room closely behind Aoba. He gave Misato a nod before sitting himself down at the table. Takao was another person Misato would have to thank. His actions yesterday helping them immensely. If he hadn't have rounded up the rogue security that were under Gendo's control who knows what might have happened.

Following Takao were the youngest of the bridge crew, Kitakami, Nagara and Tama. They didn’t look quite as tired as the others having been forced to rest by Ritsuko after the battle. There was a look of unease across their faces as they slowly moved into the room and took a seat around the table. All the people in the room had their gaze fixed on Misato who stood up.

“It would seem…” Misato started as she looked around the room, “That I… have a lot of explaining to do. First I wanted to say thank you to you all for your efforts over the last few months. I understand there has been a lot of confusion on board the ship, a lot of mistakes have been made and a lot of people have gotten hurt. I can only apologize profusely for my role in these events. I put you all at risk because of my own selfishness and my own fears and apprehension. I don’t expect forgiveness but I do ask you hear me out.”

She paused for a moment, “Several months ago we undertook an operation to rescue a boy who we believed to play a major role in what we called the Near Third Impact. I… and many others believed this to be the case for fourteen years and recently evidence arisen that what happened on that day may not have been the case.”

Each person in the room except for Ritsuko and Maya looked at one another in confusion as Misato continued to speak.

“Unfortunately when I learned of this fact I did not act upon it quickly enough. My inaction led to a situation that I was no longer able to get hold of. I allowed my fears to prevent me from doing my job. If I had acted soon maybe things wouldn’t have happened over the last few weeks as they have done. Maybe we wouldn’t have risked handing this ship over to NERV but… what has happened has happened and we move forward. Today I face my fear… today the truth is told.”

XXX

Shinji stood at the entrance to the now mostly ruined building and peered inside, he heard a loud scream of rage followed immediately by the smashing of glass. He jumped back in fright at the sudden sound before moving back to the doorway again. Patches of light from where the ceiling had fallen in illuminated the interior as he looked around the interior.

He swallowed and clenched his hand into a ball before unclenching and nervously entering the building. He cautiously made his way across the testing chamber, stepping and climbing over the debris as was necessary. He stopped halfway across the chamber at the patch of land that had been set aside for the testing of the Regula System.

Before the battle this area would have stood out, but now with the huge amount of chaos and destruction it stuck out even more. Despite all the damage that had been wrought to the facility somehow this small patch of luscious sand had remained unaffected. He took a step onto the sand feeling its soft texture beyond his plugsuited foot.

He got halfway across the patch of land. He kneeled down and saw Misato’s necklace undamaged and unchanged sticking halfway out of the sand. He picked it up and contemplated it for a moment. Misato had entrusted this to him, the belief had been that it contained some secret to locating this Tower Of Babel they were seeking. Yet so far they had been unable to discover what its secret was.

He had been so certain that the plan yesterday would have worked. Yet it seemed nothing had come of the attempt. At the same time he wondered if maybe something had happened, the bright flash of light and sudden attack by the Nemesis Series. Could it really have been a coincidence?

Shinji decided now was not the best time to think of such things. He had to find Asuka and make sure she was alright. It had been a day since the battle with the Nemesis Series. The last thing he could remember of the fight was the image of them being surrounded by sunflowers and Asuka looking up and mentioning her mother.

Shinji had passed out shortly afterwards and on waking up Asuka was nowhere to be seen. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed since the event. He had instead rushed out of the entry plug and saw the trail leading into the building.

He pushed on towards the back of the building into one of the small observation rooms. He saw a large hole in the glass and looked down to see a rock had been thrown. Shinji concluded that this must have been the smash he had heard from earlier. Shinji continued through the room and opened a door leading into a stairwell.

Sat on one of the steps leading down was Asuka, she had her head resting on her knee and was staring straight ahead.

Shinji nervously stayed in the doorway, “A-Asuka…”

“Just go away.” She snarled at him.”

Shinji didn’t go away as Asuka had asked him to, at the same time he didn’t move any closer into the room. He remained in the doorway in silence and watched as she looked up and stared straight into the wall. He nervously clenched and unclenched his hand before making the decision to move into the stairwell and sit himself down next to her.

“Are you… alright?” He finally asked. He immediately regretted his decision to ask what was at this moment a stupid question and braced himself for her reply.

She glared it him for a moment and blinked, “What do you think idiot?”

Shinji flinched as Asuka suddenly picked up a rock and hurled it at the wall letting out another angry scream. He watched was the rock smashed off of the wall and landed with a loud echoing thud onto the steel steps below. He leaned back and let out a sigh.

“I thought I told you to go away.” She muttered.

Shinji shook his head, “I know that but… I’m not leaving you Asuka.”

“What makes you think I want you or anyone near me right now?” She bit back.

Shinji shrugged, “I… don’t know but I just figured that you shouldn’t be alone. After what hap-“

Asuka shot him a glare and cut him off, “Don’t you dare finish that sentence. Nothing happened, just forget about it. I screwed up again, I lost and I… Just don’t. You want to be here? Fine but just shut up and don’t say anything.”

Shinji nodded, “Okay…”

“Good!” She said as she hurled another rock at the wall and sighed again, “Stupid Eva. Stupid Nemesis Series. Stupid Me. Stupid everything! I hate it! I hate it!”

She picked up and threw a third rock, this time standing up and putting more force into it and yelling out, “I HATE IT!”

Shinji flinched once again but remained sat down saying nothing.

“Stupid… Me! I let it happen again! I pushed it too far and…” She sat back down and hung her head down sniffing, “What the hell is wrong with me?”

Shinji nervously shuffled himself closer to her and put an arm around her shoulder. Asuka didn’t move resist him or move away which he took as a good sign. He softly spoke to her, “There isn’t anything wrong with you Asuka.”

She looked up, “Liar. You saw what happened.”

She shook his head. It was true that he had seen what had happened but he knew there was nothing wrong with her. At the same time he was struggling to find the words to say to make her feel better about it. Both of them knew what would have happened if she hadn’t have been stopped.

He thought back to what had happened to him. He had not been stopped all those years ago, at least not in the same way she had been. He still didn’t know the full truth of what had happened on that day but he could at least understand what she was feeling right now.

“What is wrong with me Shinji?” She looked him in the eyes as she spoke, “I… Is there something wrong with me? I don’t know what the truth about me is anymore. Is it because of that Angel, am I contaminated or not? Is it something to do with the Eva? Is it just… me?”

Shinji looked down, “I… I don’t think there is anything wrong with you Asuka. I just…”

“Then explain what happened Shinji! You saw it all, I lost… myself. I just kept on pushing and pushing and… you of all people know what could have happened if I hadn’t have been stopped. I just…”

He nodded, “I know Asuka and… I do understand that. I know what could have happened but you were stopped and we’re safe now aren’t we? They all stopped and we’re alive and that’s the important thing.”

Asuka continued to glare at him but took in what it was he was saying. She felt immense frustration at her circumstances at the end of that fight. She had allowed herself to lose control yet again and very nearly ended up doing the same thing she had berated Shinji for doing so many years ago.

That was not the only source of her frustration though. There was the fact that she had nearly been beaten once again, in fact if it wasn’t for that she would have been beaten despite her promise to not be beaten. Also there was what had happened in that moment. She had felt something inside of the Eva, she had gotten close to figuring out just what it was.

When she had been in that field of sunflowers she had felt something speak to her. A presence that was so very familiar and yet in an instant it had vanished and she could remember nothing. It was this that was frustrating her the most for some reason. The fact that she had gotten so close to figuring out what it was and felt like it had been snatched away from her at the last minute.

“I felt something in the Eva Shinji.” She finally said breaking the silence.

Shinji looked at her curiously, “Huh? What do you mean?”

She let out a sigh, “When I was in the Eva I felt something. I was… losing it and all I wanted to do was kill those things. I knew you were trying to stop me but I couldn’t stop at all but then… I felt something. It was just before we ended up in that field of sunflowers. There was a warmth… it was like it was protecting me and it felt so familiar.”

She paused, “It sounds so ridiculous but I feel like it spoke to me. It got me to stop but then as soon as I figured out what it was it just vanished and… I can’t remember what it is now. I… no matter how much I try I can’t figure out what that damn thing was!”

Shinji’s eyes widened a moment as he heard her speak. He could still remember what it was Asuka had said at the climax of the battle. Could she not remember that either?

“You don’t… remember? You don’t remember what you said?”

“What did I just say Shinji!” She snapped, “I can’t remember what it was! I can’t remember what it said and I can’t remember what I said! All I remember is losing that stupid battle and flipping out. All I remember is pushing and pushing and ignoring everything around me! All I remember is feeling like I didn’t care what the hell happened as long as I won some stupid fight! I hate it! I hate it! I HATE IT!”

She picked up another rock and fling it at the wall again letting out another scream of anger. Shinji stood up putting his arms around her.

“Y-You… called out for your mother…”

She looked at him, “My mother?”

Shinji nodded, “Y-Yeah… Asuka I’ve been thinking about it for a while. Do you remember what I told you about Fuyutsuki and my mother when I was at NERV?”

Asuka nodded, “Yes. What about it?”

“Well the more I think about it the more certain things made sense. Like Unit 01 had moments where it’d come to life on its own and… fight for me. I’d feel certain things in there and if I was… knocked out in it have these weird dreams and feelings. I didn’t think about it until Fuyutsuki told me about my mother being the control unit but… what if it was her and she was looking over me?”

Shinji paused for a moment, “What if that is the same for the rest of us? Your mother had an accident in a contact experiment right? The same as mine.”

Asuka nodded, “What about Rei though? She doesn’t have a mother.”

“I don’t know but… what if that was what happened to you too? Maybe it was the same thing that happened with me. Maybe she was watching over you and stopping you from making the same mistake or losing yourself.”

Asuka pulled away from him and frowned. She picked up another rock and tossed it at the wall and shrugged, “I don’t know. I mean it makes sense but…”

Asuka’s thoughts went back to that field of sunflowers she had seen in the Eva. Her chest tightened as she thought more about what Shinji had said regarding her mother and her mouth dropped open in shock. Suddenly she remembered why that place seemed so familiar, she had been there a very long time ago. Her mother used to take her there for picnics and it was where she first learned how to ride a bike.

She started to realize that Shinji might be right. The warmth that she felt within the Eva was one that had been lost to her so many years ago. It was the same warmth that she felt when her mother used to hold her as a child. Could it really be true? Was her mother really inside the Eva and watching over her?

She sat back down to see that her hands had started trembling, two small teardrops suddenly appeared on her gloves. Shinji’s arms came around her again pulling her into a warm embrace.

“Mama…”

XXX

Mari slowly opened her eyes and looked straight up at the blurred ceiling above her. She blinked twice before letting out a soft groan, “Urgh… I’m back in here again.”

She smiled a bit at her comment knowing that she was likely to have been very lucky to be here. There was not much she could remember of the end of the battle. She remembered being knocked down and passing out. They must have won somehow but what had happened. Was Rei alright? Had she managed to escape the facility before any harm had come to her?

Mari’s body ached and she lay still for a moment as she tried to remember anything else that might have happened. She slowly turned her head and her heart skipped with joy to see sat a couple of feet away was Rei. She was safe after all!

She contemplated leaping out of the bed and jumping towards Rei but suddenly a more devious thought popped into her head. She stopped a grin from making its way onto her lips as she started to put things into motion. Rei clearly hadn’t noticed that Mari had woken up, she seemed to be deep in concentration reading a book.

Mari spoke, keeping her voice quiet, “R-Rei?”

Rei looked up from her book. Even with her vision slightly blurred Mari could make out the smile on Rei’s face.

“Mari! You have awoken.” Rei said in her usual soft spoken way.

Mari nodded, “Y-Yeah… can you hand me my glasses please Blue?”

Rei nodded, “Of course, I will get them for you.”

Mari saw the small smile come to Reis lips and watched as the girl sat up and reached for Mari’s glasses. She handed them carefully to Mari and watched as Mari put them on. All the blurriness from Mari’s world was gone in an instant and she could enact phase two of her plan.

Phase two was going to be a bit more difficulty. Mari attempted to shift herself into a sitting position but her entire body seemed to ache from every little movement. She had expected it to hurt but just not this moment.

She got about halfway up before letting out an exaggerated groan and flopping back down onto the bed. She would have regretted that action if it wasn’t for what she was about to do. If it was indeed possible. She saw Rei’s expression change slightly to a look of concern.

“You should not move. You were hurt quite badly in the battle.”

Mari gave a small nod of the head, “Yeah tell me about it… I just… I want to sit up, can you maybe help me out?”

Rei smiled again, “Yes of course.”

Rei moved closer to Mari prompting her to almost giggle in anticipation. She waited until Rei was practically over her with one arm behind her back and starting to try to shift Mari into a sitting position. Mari took her chance, summoning up all of her strength and fighting through the pain she reached around Rei with both her arms and pulled the girl onto the bed with her. She wrapped her arms firmly around Rei and hugged her as tight as she could.

“REI! You… You’re alright I… I’m so happy!” Mari exclaimed excitedly as Rei struggled and squirmed in her arms.

"Mmmfg ihf canfht brmmphthe!"

Rei continued to squirm in Mari's arms as Mari let go ever so slightly to allow Rei to turn her head and breathe again. She took a moment to catch her breath before plant a small kiss on Mari's cheek and also hugging her back as best she could through the cover.

"I am glad that you are also alright Mari." Rei said.

"Heh... me too." Mari replied, "Thought I was a goner for a moment. I'm glad you're alright too, seem to be in better shape than I am as well! What the hell happened? Last thing I remember was..."

Rei looked into Mari’s eyes and shook her head, “I am under orders from Katsuragi, Akagi and Suzahara to not discuss what happened with you until you are fully rested.”

“But I...”

“No.”

“Can you not-“

“No.”

“Nothing at all.”

“Nothing.”

“That isn’t fair.”

Rei leaned in and kissed Mari on the lips, “I do not wish to incur the wrath of Suzahara. She was already quite annoyed at… certain risks that had been taken you can find out later.”

Mari grinned, “Fair enough. I’ll rest on one condition. You have to be here to cuddle me.”

“I can comply with that.”

XXX

Misato straightened her uniform and faced the occupants of the room. She realized as she saw the expectant looks on their faces that she really wasn't sure where to begin. There was so much to cover spanning not just the last month but back to when they recovered Shinji and maybe even further back.

"I will start with my incarceration last month..." Misato finally spoke, "What happened last month was the result of careful planning by myself and Doctor Akagi. We had known for quite some time that NERV had somehow managed to get to a number of people within WILLE and on board the ship. Unfortunately at that time we didn't know who it was nor did we know what their end game was."

Misato paused for a moment in anticipation of any questions from her staff. When none came she continued.

"We didn't know what they were after until a certain point. We received two lots of information, one from Ryoji Kaji which he had sent to us after his unfortunate death. The second lot was from an anonymous source who has yet to be identified. This person however confirmed the same thing that Kaji did. That a mole was on board the ship, who they were targeting and what their aim was."

Misato paused again as Takao spoke, "What was the aim of this person?"

"To eliminate Rei Ayanami and ensure NERV had control of the AAA Wunder. In order to accomplish this they needed to remove me from the equation. It is thought that NERV having infiltrated WILLE at this point would be able to appoint their own hand picked crew."

"So you removed yourself from the equation?"

Misato nodded, "Yes, in addition to the information about the mole I also learned that Kaji had continued to look into locating the Tower Of Babel. We were very close to finding it as it was. We had recovered the artefact from the mission before as well as what we believed to be a map but there was one final thing that needed doing. These things were useless to us without the final part done, obviously we couldn't risk performing that final step ourselves with a member of NERV on board. So I made the decision to let Shinji Ikari and Pilot Shikinami escape with Unit 02."

A few confused looks were exchanged between the younger members of the crew but they kept quiet as Misato continued to explain.

"This allowed Ritsuko to do her job and apprehend me as well as throw me in the brig. She could then take command of the Wunder and there NERV had someone they thought they could control. Our job afterwards was to play their game until an opportunity presented itself to uncover who the traitor was and apprehend them. That opportunity was yesterday and that traitor was Makoto Hyuga."

Misato looked to see Aoba and Maya's heads drop slightly. She couldn't help but feel sorry for the two of them. They had all been brought into NERV at the same time and all joined WILLE together. They were all supposed to have been good friends and lived and suffered together.

"Why?" Maya spoke softly.

Misato sighed, "We... don't know. The reason for Makoto doing what he did is known only to him and Gendo Ikari. We can't ask Makoto now and I don't think Gendo is going to come forward. We can only hazard a guess at this point. It could be that Makoto believed in what it was Gendo Ikari was selling, he felt resentment at his place in the world and maybe even jealousy towards others. Truth me told yourself and Aoba... you've both grown and have a place in this world since the Third Impact. Makoto... not so much. Maybe he hated that fact."

"His reason doesn't matter..." Aoba spoke up, "He made his choice and got what he deserved."

Misato was slightly surprised at the coldness in Aoba's voice but it was to be expected. She decided it would be best to move the conversation on.

"Regardless of motive he did what he did and we were able to stop him before he could carry out his goal. Rei is... safe and unharmed and we can carry on."

Kitakami spoke up, "What... exactly was he trying to do? Why kill Rei?"

Ritsuko rose to her feet this time to answer, "You are aware of what Rei Ayanami is?"

Kitakami nodded, "Yes... a little bit."

"The facility that WILLE had us go to was not in fact a SEELE facility as we had been told. It was a NERV facility, Golgotha. This information was known to only a select number of people. It is within this facility that Rei Ayanami was 'created' and also where her 'spare bodies' were also kept. It was Makoto, NERVs intention to have Rei transferred into a new body that they could control."

"So it was a risk sending Rei down there?" Takao asked gruffly.

Ritsuko nodded and lowered her eyes, "Yes... Unfortunately our options were limited. Rei however requested that we carry out the plan in that way, she also had other reasons for being down there."

"Like what?" He replied.

Ritsuko shook her head, "That is... not for me to say. It is something that is personal to Rei and if she wishes to discuss it then so be it."

"What happened with Rei is a subject for another time."

Misato interjected wishing to bring the conversation away from this path. The others did not need to know about what Rei had done yet. Rei would likely still need time to process her actions. When Misato had sene her earlier she had seemed fine but she knew from her own experience the truth would not be so simple.

"So what now?" Nagara asked.

"Yeah I mean... if WILLE has been compromised and we just took out NERVs guy won't they be... after us?"

Misato looked around the room, "We don't know. We might have stopped Gendo Ikari from getting his hands on Rei and the Wunder for the moment but this is a man who is likely to have some form of contingency in place for that. We might have put a dent in his plans but it is only likely to have slowed him down and not stopped him completely."

Misato paused for a moment and sighed, "There is also... something else I need to say. I made reference earlier to the recovery of Shinji Ikari from Unit 01 and also his role in the Third Impact."

There was an icy tension in the room as she spoke those words. More glances were exchanged among the crew as she continued to speak.

"I know that you have all been told... maybe even seen the footage of the incident from fourteen years ago. The official line up until now has been that the Near Third Impact was initiated by Shinji Ikari when he chose to push his Evangelion. This caused Evangelion Unit 01 to awaken and trigger the cataclysmic events that started to transform and change our world."

She continued to look around the room as everyone sat completely still and silent, "A couple of weeks before my imprisonment I was shown footage that I had never seen before of that day. Showing events that I do not remember. Events that no one has spoken of and that someone has kept covered up."

Aobo leaned back in his seat, "Wait... we were there too are you saying that-"

"it didn't happen like we remember it?" Maya finished his question for him.

Misato nodded, "Aoba... Maya... If it isn't too much what do you remember?"

Aoba spoke first recounting the fight against the tenth Angel. He spoke of how Unit 02 was hijacked by Mari and fought what was ultimately a losing battle against the powerful Angel. He recounted Rei attempting to fight the Angel and Shinji's return in Unit 01. He then went on to talk about how the Angel took on a hideous new form upon ingesting Unit 00.

Finally he spoke of hearing Shinji start to try to get Rei back. How everyone tried to stop him except for Misato who encouraged it. Misato cringed slightly at the memory of her own words but let him carry on. He told of how a giant hole appeared in the sky and then waking up not long afterwards. Unit 01 had vanished and the world had changed.

Maya then took her turn to speak and confirmed his story. Misato turned to Ritsuko who merely nodded, "You know it was the same for me too."

Misato then rose from her seat and moved towards a screen at the back of the room.

"This... footage was shown to me by one of the few allies we seem to have within WILLE. They came upon it by an anonymous source who we believe to be the same person who passed us the information that led to us tracking down Makoto."

"What is it?" Takao asked.

"The truth." Misato said as she started to play the footage depicting Evangelion Unit 01 awakening. She pointed out the moment that she and others could remember and then watched for the reaction of the others as the footage continued to play. She heard an audible gasp as the spear came down impaling Unit 01 followed swiftly by the arrival of the Mark 06.

As the footage faded out she turned to the crew, "Any questions?"

XXX

Asuka approached the entrance to the entry plug and felt her stomach tighten immediately. She heard Shinji give a small yelp of pain as she realized her hand had tightened itself around him. She relaxed her grip instantly and the two of them stopped moving forward. She felt her body break out in a cold sweat as she took in the sight of the behemoth.

Unit 02 was exactly where she had left it yesterday. After the battle she had brought it down onto its side. Ejected the entry plug and left the cockpit. She let out a sigh and took a tentative step forward.

"Asuka, are you going to be alright?" Shinji asked quietly.

She gave a small nod of her head, "I'll be fine. Just give me a moment."

A number of thoughts were running through her head at this moment. At the very forefront was what had happened to her at the end of the battle yesterday. She could shake those horrible feelings associated with what she had done. Even though Shinji had tried to reassure her and she had made the effort to reassure herself she still felt sick to think about what could have been if she hadn't been stopped.

With the conclusion of the battle those familiar feelings of failure had also crept into her mind. Those little voices that ate away at her and told her she was incapable of doing anything. That she was useless and pathetic for having to rely on other people. It replayed memories of all her failures in her mind, each time she had tried to do something and not succeeded.

She tried to stem those feelings but it was difficult. She was likely to never let that guard drop one hundred percent. She acknowledged that ti was alright to need and require other people to help but she still felt pathetic for her herself needing that.

Adding to this were the thoughts of her mother. It was true that she had always felt some sort of presence within the Evangelion. She had never questioned it too much before, she had never cared too much to unravel the strange and numerous mysteries behind the bio-mechanical beast known as the Evangelion. As long as it had worked that had been all she cared about.

Yet now it working was the least of her concerns. What if Shinji was right and her mother was in some way trapped inside. It would help to explain the strange way she had changed after the contact experiment but at the same time if this was true what did it mean for her? Was there going to be a way of getting her out? Was there a way to communicate with her?

Finally she had to think about the future. What would they do next and where would they go? What exactly had happened yesterday and why had the Nemesis Series attacked so suddenly? They hadn't been able to find out whether or not their test of the Regula System had succeeded before getting ready for the attack. There had been no word from Karim or his people regarding the evacuation of the Village and nothing about the Tower.

There were too many thoughts and all of them mixed in with the feelings of dizziness, hunger, tiredness and continued cramping in her stomach was starting to make her irritated again. She tried to calm herself before she ended up kicking something out of anger. She freed her hand from Shinji's and took a few steps forward.

Shinji moved to follow but she turned around stopping him, "Can you wait out here, nothing personal but I need to... sort out a few personal things first."

There was a brief look of confusion on Shinji's face followed by a realization of what Asuka was referring too, "Oh... everything should be in the bag for you. I made sure I packed it all just in case."

Asuka smiled back at him, "Good... Just wait here then. Okay?"

Asuka gingerly climbed up into the Entry Plug and immediately went for her pack pulling out what she needed. She started with the painkillers and a bottle of water to try to ease some of the cramping. She took out the other items she'd need and placed them near to her on the floor. She let out a sigh on seeing the canned rations in the pack.

_'Great... back to these things again.'_

She popped two of the painkillers into her mouth and swallowed them along with a gulp of water before heading towards the front of the entry plug. Once there she ran a hand along the seat and looked at the display.

_'Mama... are you really inside this thing? Did you help me yesterday, was that the voice I heard?'_

She let out another sigh and was about to head back to finish up what she needed to when her console suddenly started to beep. She glanced at it to see the incoming communication alert and cautiously answered it. A moment later Karim's face appeared on the display. He had a cut above his right eye and seemed a lot more serious and disheveled than ysterday.

"Pilot Shikinami! You are alright? How is Shinji?"

"Shinji is fine." Asuka replied. "What happened? Are you alright, how about your people?"

His expression didn't change, "Things are... stable for the moment. We were able to get our people free and to safety. Thank you for that."

Asuka nodded, "I'm glad to hear it."

"We have some... things to discuss Asuka. Are yourself and Shinji able to make it to the village?"

Asuka raised a curious eyebrow, "We should be, what happened?"

"It would be best discussed in person but this outpost was not the only place to suffer an attack from the Nemesis Series yesterday. We received reports around the world from our own outposts and numerous others that they were being attacked."

Asuka's stomach twisted at hearing his words, "Is it related to what we did?"

"We don't know yet. Our teams are trying to piece together everything we have right now but it's absolute chaos. The focus has been on making sure people are alright but there is one thing we think you will be interested in."

"What would that be?"

The display showing Karim's face changed to instead show a large desert landscape. Unlike most of the world this appeared to be how it was before the Near Third Impact. Asuka could make out a series of cliffs with an array of openings inside.

"Where is this?"

"This is Qumran and what you are seeing right now at the Qumran Caves. Better known as the location in which the Dead Sea Scrolls were located."

Asuka nodded, "So this was untouched by the Third Impact?"

"Yes, it was one of a few anomalous areas in the world that did remain untouched. That is to say until now."

The image of the caves changed as Karim's voice continued to be heard, "At around the same time as we ran our test the locals here spoke of a bright flash of light and the ground rumbling. When they arrived they found this. This is a few miles north of the site I just shown you."

Asuka's jaw dropped when she saw the new image on screen. There was a disc like shape on the ground, maybe a mile or so in diameter. Around the edge leading inwards was a rainbow like pattern which faded to a deep black. A short distance across the black section the disc glowed red and formed a new disc.

From this interior disc a huge cone-like structure, blood red in appearance protruded from the ground. It spiraled upwards into the sky before levelling off at the top. At the very top a deep red cross like shape could be seen. Along the edges of the structure smaller crosslike shapes could also be seen forming some twisted type of railing.

Asuka's heart was pounding in her chest as she gazed in awe at the mysterious tower on screen, "I'll get Shinji... we'll be at the village immediately."

XXX

Kaworu Nagisa looked up at the large array of screens in front of him. On one of them he watched as a swarm of Mark.04s swarmed past the tower on some form of patrol. On another he could see the small group of Lilin that had set up a camp on the outskirts of the tower. No one dared to cross the threshhold into the towers domain, Kaworu doubted that they would be able to.

Other screens were set up to show him an overview of the world and its reaction to what had transpired over the last twenty-four hours. A few were focused on detailing the damage done by the fighting inside the Lilin cities. Kaworu felt the pain in his heart as he learned of the number of deaths that had occurred as a result of the activation of the towers defense systems.

Another report made mention of chaos within WILLE as one of its directors had been found dead in one of the organizations offices around the time of the attacks. Shot by an unknown assailant. Kaworu shook his head,  _'He will be coming now as well... I await your arrival King of the Lilin.'_

He turned away from the screens to head towards the other side of the room and await all of their arrivals.

"As expected they have been able to reveal the location of the tower. The last gift left behind by those that came before. With this the cycle can be broken. I await your arrival and to see you one last time... Shinji Ikari."


	28. The Tower Suite - Prelude: Welcome Home

Misato took a slow and cautious step into her quarters, they were just as she had left them slightly over a month ago. Everything was now covered in a thin layer of dust of course but that was to be expected. Aside from that nothing had been touched, it was still as neat and tidy as she had left it before she had left.

She stepped over to one of the seats and looked around the room whilst running her hand along the back of the seat. Being back in here felt much the same as being back in the meeting room earlier, it was a strange feeling after having spent the last few weeks in relative isolation in the cell. She was going to have to get used to being in comfort again, going to have to get used to being the leader again and being around people again.

She sat herself down and found her eyes drawn immediately to a picture in a frame on the small table before her. It was a picture that she hadn’t looked at in quite some time but one that had occupied that very same spot in her quarters since she had come on board the Wunder and one that had been occupying a spot in her previous homes for many years.

It was a picture of a somewhat disgruntled looking Asuka and a fearful yet smiling Shinji. This picture was the only one that she had been able to get of the two of them together. Misato had used an opportunity after one of the synch tests to take the photo. Her intention had originally been to get a group picture of all of the pilots together but she had only been able to get Asuka and Shinji together at that time.

Her hand started to tremble as she reached out to pick up the picture. She felt tears well up in her eyes almost immediately as she brought it towards her and started to feel that flood of memories associated with that time rush back into her mind.

She could remember those times so very clearly. They had not been easy times but they had been happier and more optimistic times. Shinji was slowly starting to adapt to his new life. She knew he still had anxiety about piloting the Eva but he was starting to make friends and seemed happier.

Asuka on the other hand had just transferred to the city and moved into Misato’s apartment. She, Shinji and Rei had beaten an Angel together and she too was starting to adapt to her new life. Her presence had been somewhat disruptive to start with. Asuka’s attitude towards life in Japan and towards Shinji had not helped matters at all. Yet over those weeks the three had settled into some sort of weird and slightly dysfunctional unit.

Misato knew that she had made a lot of mistakes around that time. She had continued to drink on evenings and had never really figured out what she wanted to be to the two of them. She had found herself caught in a weird place between being their commander, a mother figure, a big sister, or even a friend.

At the same time she had had her own personal demons to deal with. Ones that even worked to put them at risk just for her own gain. Her feelings towards the Angels had led to her putting Shinji and Asuka’s feelings to one side to satiate her own.

In her mind she had told herself she was doing the best for the two of them at the time but whenever she looked back on it she knew it was far from her best and far from good enough. At times she had prioritized Shinji over Asuka. Not provided support to Asuka or offered to be there when she might have needed it. At the same time despite prioritizing Shinji she had rarely been there for him as he would have needed it.

_‘For those months… I was never really there for him. I never spoke to him about his feelings or fears, his life and his future… I just saw the two of them as a tool really…’_

It was not long after the picture had been taken that the worst had finally happened. Another Impact had rocked the Earth. The near Third Impact had plunged the world into nearly a year of chaos.

Misato’s first course of action afterwards was to cut back on her drinking. She would still do it on occasion but nowhere near like before. Her focus was now on getting Shinji back and ensuring that this time she treated him as he deserved to be treated. When they got him back she was going to be there for him, she was going to help him and provide what he needed.

It was a promise that she had of course broken. As time passed without him returning her longing to get him back had also twisted. She had buried her own guilt for what happened that day and convinced herself that maybe the rest of the world was correct. That it was Shinji to blame for what had happened on that day.

It was only a way of her masking her own guilt for being the one to keep pushing him at the time. She had been the one to encourage him to try and save Rei. She had been the one that had told him to go forward for nobody else’s sake but his own.

_‘All I succeeded in doing was putting him in more danger. I refused to explain to him what had happened, I refused to be there for him… even when I finally learned the truth I refused. I just…’_

Misato’s hands tightened around the picture and she felt those tears from earlier start to finally trickle down her cheeks. She had known this was coming for a while. She had been trying to keep it together ever since she had returned to the ship, no she had been keeping this back ever since they had gotten Shinji back. This was the result of nearly a year’s worth of emotion being held back.

The tears flowed more freely now as she held the picture closely to her chest, her silent crying turning to louder sobs. Her shoulders shook as she finally let out all that emotion that had been building up within her.

XXX

Shinji finished coming down from the makeshift docking platform and took a look surrounding area. Aside from himself and Asuka there was not a single soul inside the village anymore. At this time of the day they would usually be hearing the soft sounds of children playing in the distance, or the chattering of people as they moved through the streets. For now there was only an eerie silence.

Asuka took a few steps forward into the middle of the area and waited for him to catch up. She too was looking around. She was frowning but give him a little smile as he approached. Their journey back here had been mostly silent. It seemed to Shinji that Asuka had been nervous about piloting Unit 02 back here. After what had transpired and what she might have learned about her mother it was hard to blame her.

Shinji had therefore done the only thing he thought he could at the time. Stayed silent and knelt beside Asuka with his hand on hers throughout the journey.

They joined hands as he spoke, “Do you think that people will come back to the village then?”

Asuka gave a small nod of her head, “Of course they will! Even if those Nemesis Series monsters had managed to get past us and destroyed half of the village they would have come back. They would be upset and angry but they’d just rebuild and move on. That’s… what people do I guess. Look at how many times people kept coming back to Tokyo-3.”

“Yeah you’re right…”

“Even if they can’t rebuild it they’d probably just try to build a new one and copy the original. Look at what they did with Neo-London.” She chuckled as they continued to make their through the silent streets. After a short whilst she slowed her walk down and her expression seemed to drop. Her grip on Shinji’s hand tightened and she came to a full stop.

Shinji shot her a concerned glance, "Asuka are you okay?"

"No it's just... I was thinking about what you said earlier and when I was..." She shook her head and let out a sigh, "This is going to sound so stupid. When we were coming back here I tried... to speak to my mother in the Eva. I don't know what the hell I was expecting to happen but when I was concentrating on getting the Eva to walk I was also... asking if she was there or if she could hear me."

Shinji placed his hand on her shoulder to comfort her, "Did... anything happen?"

She shook her head again, "Of course nothing happened! I guess... I felt something. There was a warmth or something like that but it's not like she actually spoke to me or anything. I know it sounds stupid but-"

"It doesn't sound stupid at all!" Shinji cut her off abruptly, "If I was able to get back inside Unit 01... I'd do the same thing. I'd try to speak to her too."

"What would you say?" Asuka asked curiously.

Shinji shrugged, "I don't know... I guess I'd ask her why she abandoned me and my father. She knew what was going to happen to her so I'd ask why. I'd ask why she never came back or made herself known to me. Why I... I'd just want to know why."

Asuka reached out to stroke his cheek calming him down immediately. She hadn't expected such an angry response to her question. At the same time she could understand why he had gotten angry.

"Sorry." He finally said, "What... would you ask?"

"I suppose I'd ask... why she was still in there and what exactly happened. Your mother had a choice of going in but I don't know about mine. If it happened after yours then why would they risk the contact experiment and if they did, did they know that'd happen?"

After a short silence she muttered, "I suppose... I'd ask her if she still loved me."

Shinji pulled Asuka towards him hugging her tightly, "Of course she does Asuka..."

"I don't like this uncertainty. I need to know if she is actually in there Shinji. It feels like she is but that thought of that Angel from years ago. What if it is trying to confuse me or something?"

"But the Angel isn't a part of you anymore."

"How do you know that Shinji?"

"Because Misato said before we-"

Asuka cut him off sharply, "Don't mention what she said Shinji! She said a lot of things. She said she would do everything to get you back. She said she'd never lie to me and make sure I was informed on everything. She once said I was safe. She sai-"

Asuka released herself from the hug, "It doesn't matter. I just... how can I believe in Misato again? After what happened to the both of us. The way we were treated and forced to come here just to find that damn tower. The lack of information and lies and secrecy. How can I trust her?"

"I don't know Asuka but... I think we should give her another chance. I know she hurt you... and she hurt me a lot too but I think she was just scared."

"And that makes up for it does it?" Asuka frowned, "When we get back to the Wunder the truth is going to come out. I want to know everything we haven't been told. I want to hear from her why she acted the way she did, what she was doing and what is going to happen. I want to truth about Third Impact, about my mother and this stupid tower."

Shinji nodded, "I know... I want those things too. I think... she'll be ready to talk to us this time and I'm ready to talk to her too."

"You know you're far too forgiving of people. Why can't you just hold a grudge like normal people?" Asuka said as she took his hand in hers again.

Shinji shook his head, "I... don't know. Maybe sometimes I think I should for some people. I just don't like the idea of hating people. Except... there is one person I can never forgive."

"Your father?" She asked.

"Yeah... I tried to once but then the dummy plug thing happened. When I got taken to NERV here I thought... maybe that was another chance but then I found out what he was doing and since I've learned what he has done.  I can't forgive him anymore..."

They moved into another part of the village and were finally at their destination. They decided to leave their conversation there on sight of the jeep with Karim leaning against it. There were two other members of Espèrer there waiting who Shinji and Asuka recognized from yesterday. As they approached Karim stood up and nodded towards the two of them.

"Asuka, Shinji! It's good to see both of you."

"It's good to see you as well." Shinji replied politely, "Is everyone from here alright?"

Karim gave him a smile and nodded, "They are doing just fine. We were able to get everyone in the village away safely and to another one of our outpost. They're all a little bit cramped, hungry and homesick but they are safe. We have plans in place to start bringing them back in the next day or so."

"I'm glad!"

Karim now turned towards Asuka, "Thank you... without your warning yesterday and your skills in piloting a lot of people would have died yesterday. I don't know what it was you did, how you knew or how you were able to stop those things and I don't care. What matters is that all those people are safe because of you."

Asuka's mouth opened partially as she felt herself blush a deep red at hearing his words. She had never been thanked by someone in such a way before, usually it was a quick pat on the back and then business as usual. All she could do was nod, "I... was just... doing what I had to..."

"We owe you a great debt Asuka. I don't know how we can begin to repay you for it."

Asuka shook her head. The truth was that on any other day she might have been accepting of the praise or the offer but the last thing she wanted to think about right now was that battle. She was more than happy to hear the people were safe but it was the knowledge of how close it was to being the opposite that scared her. Especially knowing that it could have happened because of her actions.

"Espèrer owes us nothing. We're just glad your people are safe."

Shinji interjected, "Asuka said that... other places were attacked as well? Are they alright?"

"Unfortunately that is true yes, around the time we were attacked we had reports of other cities around the world coming under attack. We don't know the full extend of it just yet, some places were hit much worse than others. As you can imagine there is a lot to sort out, a lot of meetings, communication between factions but humanity will get through it."

"What about Neo-London?" Shinji asked as his mind immediately turned to thoughts of Touji, Hikari and their new-born child.

"We've not been able to fully confirm the situation regarding Neo-London just yet. We know they were attacked but WILLE are being very quiet about the city itself. From what we know minimal damage and casualties but there were other events that took place at the same time."

"I see..." Shinji's eyes lowered to the ground as he let Asuka step forward and lead the conversation again.

"Karim... the tower, we have located it?" She asked hopefully.

"Yes... We believe we have."

"We really found it?" Shinji asked clearly surprised at the news. He figured that this must have been the surprise Asuka had told him about, "Where is it?"

"Qumran, about two thousand miles from here. We believe that its appearance last night coincided with the attacks by the Nemesis Series. Due to the situation we have not been able to properly investigate it but there is little doubt in my mind that it is the tower."

"We need to get there." Asuka stated, "How do we do that?"

"Our role was simply to help you locate it. We unfortunately don't have the resources to transport you all the way there otherwise we would do so."

"Oh... so what are we going to do?" Shinji asked.

"Tomorrow we will rendezvous with the AAA Wunder and Captain Katsuragi. They will be the ones taking you to the tower."

XXX

Misato finished taking a sip from her coffee and set her cup down on the table. Her attention was strangely drawn towards the lionfish swimming happily in its tank on the other side of the room. She tilted her head curiously as she watched it swimming around the various array of props scattered within the tank.

It was a bizarre assortment that people had added to over time ranging from Aztec themed to Medieval and even futuristic.

_‘Well at least Livingston seems to be happy. I wonder what it’s like in his world, just swimming around the same things each and every day. No complications, no changes just complete simplicity.’_

A gentle sigh escaped Misato’s lips as her attention turned away from the fish and to what lay in store for the Wunder over the next few days. The first of the crew’s tasks had been accomplished yesterday, getting the mighty vessel back up into the air, but there was still a lot left to do and not a lot of time left to do it.

The sudden appearance of the tower had advanced their schedule. Misato knew fine well that Gendo Ikari would be on his way there already. In addition to this word had started to get through of the attacks around the world and the turmoil within WILLE. These factors made heading back to Neo-London to arrange repairs to the Wunder or Unit 08 simply impossible.

Misato rubbed her temples as the door to the ready room opened up and Ritsuko stepped inside. Misato acknowledged the woman with a small nod and a smile as her second in command walked up to the desk.

“You look well Ritsuko, sleep well?” Misato asked.

Ritsuko gave a nod, “For about the first time in a month yes. Yourself?”

Misato gave her head a shake, “Not quite as well unfortunately. I still have a lot of things to work out about our plans and also about myself. Need to figure out exactly what we are going to do after today is over… also need to figure out what I’m going to do today as well.”

Ritsuko sat herself down, “Are you ready to see them again?”

“Not really…” Misato sighed again as she cradled her cup with her hands, “I made a lot of mistakes with those two Ritsuko, going all the way back to before the Third Impact. I never really knew what I wanted to be to them or how to handle them.”

Misato paused, “When we got Shinji back… I didn’t want to face him. I knew that facing him would be facing myself and my own actions on that day but if I had have said something… anything to him I could maybe have prevented all of this. My actions or rather my inaction put all of us in danger.”

Ritsuko looked across at her and frowned, “Do you think that by talking to him sooner you could have prevented what happened with Makoto? Or Gendo infiltrating WILLE as he had done?”

Misato shrugged, “I don’t know… maybe not but if we were on level terms it would have made things easier surely. As for Asuka… I lied to her. I kept the truth from her despite all the promises I made her through the years.”

“We’ve been through all of this already Misato. When it came to Asuka we were both at fault. We-“

“I appreciated what you’re saying Rits but ultimately it all comes down to me. I’m the captain, I’m responsible. You warned me what the risks were to Asuka and the ship… I could have stopped her at any time from piloting. I could have spoken to her at any point but I didn’t. Even when we confirmed what it was that was happening to her I refused to stop.”

“You had your reasons Misato. We both knew there would be a risk of telling her too, we weren’t sure how someone like Asuka would react.”

“Exactly! I was afraid that if I told her I’d lose a pilot in my quest for that goddamn tower. I’m no different to how I was at NERV. Nothing has changed, I’m still trying to kill that damn white whale and to hell with everyone else!”

Ritsuko chuckled at Misato’s reference, “You’ve never even read that book.”

“Everyone knows the stupid story though don’t they?”

“True.” Ritsuko shrugged, “Look Misato, what’s done is done and there is no point in regretting the mistakes we made in the past. We have to move forward and try to make amends for it all. My own past has caught up with me but… I have to move forward.”

Misato sighed again, “You’re right… I’m just scared I guess. Feels like we got lucky over the past few days and… I don’t know when our luck might run out.”

Ritsuko frowned as she took in Misato’s words. She wanted to say something reassuring but she was feeling that same way too. After the fight against the Nemesis Series she was beginning to wonder about the nature of their luck. Did Yui really help them the other day or were they just fortunate? How long would Yui be able to fight for them or would she even be willing to continue to?

It was not worth bringing up right now. There wasn’t exactly a way to ask Yui anymore and it was more unnecessary worry for them.

“I don’t think we have anything to worry about for the moment. We should focus on getting them back on board for the moment.”

Misato nodded, “Yeah… you’re right. Thank you.”

XXX

Shinji yawned and sleepily snuggled his head into Asuka's shoulder. He felt both of her arms come around him and a soft chuckle from her as she softly ran one of her hands through the boy’s hair.

"You know Shinji we might have this the wrong way around. If you go by all the books and movies it's supposed to be me doing that to you."

Shinji looked up and met her gaze, "O-Oh... Sorry, do you want me to move?"

Asuka tightened her grip on him and shook her head, "Not al all. I never liked all those old romantic conventions anyway. Always seemed so dull, the man is supposed to do this and the woman does that. Urgh, so stupid."

Shinji smiled and snuggled his head into her again putting an arm around her as she continued, "I always remember Hikari being all for that sort of thing when we were back in school though. She loved the whole idea of the dashing prince sweeping her off her feet. With Touji it was more of an ogre picking up a maiden but they love each other I guess."

Asuka glanced out of the window and continued to run her hands through Shinji's hair. It was still the morning but from outside she could hear the soft humming of vehicles moving through the village streets. It seemed that the first of the evacuees had returned. Over the next couple of days the village would once again be populated.

Asuka and Shinji would already be gone by the time that happened. Later today the Wunder was going to appear in the skies overhead. It would land somewhere nearby and pick them back up. Her thoughts soon turned to what would happen when the Wunder arrived.

Things were different now, they had been slowly changing from the moment they had rescued Shinji all those months ago. Now however things were very different, she didn't quite know what to expect when they returned to that strange ship she called home.

Asuka had already started to prepare things in her mind of what they were going to do when they returned. She was going to take a long shower to start with, not that she hadn't been able to here but it wasn't quite the same as the one in her quarters. From there she wasn't quite sure. Mari would of course be waiting to greet them, she dreaded the thought of that the brunette would do when seeing them.

There was also the matter of seeing Misato again. Karim had informed the two of them that Misato was indeed back in charge of the Wunder. The hows and whys weren't known to anyone but that was now the case. Shinji had asked her to promise not to confront or yell at Misato when they got back. The more Asuka thought about it the more the realized just how tough that was going to be.

Yet for Shinji she would try to do just that. Instead they were going to calmly request a meeting with her and go from there. One thing was for certain though, Asuka was going to get as much as she could from Misato for both her and Shinji's sake.

She already had a list of things she wanted to know. She wanted to know the truth about Asuka's mysterious contamination. She wanted to know when they realized nothing was there, why they failed to tell her when they did fear something was there and what exactly was going on with her body.

The next thing she needed to know was the truth behind Third Impact. She needed to know what exactly had happened on that day. She needed to see that new footage. She had always been brought up seeing the footage that cut off after Shinji opened the portals. She had always believed that he had properly started it but now she knew differently. She had to see and know the truth.

Thirdly she had to know the truth about her mother. Misato might not be able to help with that one but if not Misato then there were others. Ritsuko or even Mari, not that she liked the idea of asking Mari for assistance.

"Do you think much will have changed for them?" Shinji suddenly asked.

"Changed? Of course it will, they had to relinquish Katsuragi of command and then somehow reinstate her. God knows what has happened up there. Yet some things will have stayed the same, the canteen food will be dull without you around to save it and Mari will still be a pervert."

Shinji laughed, "I'm looking forward to seeing them all again... I know how they feel about me up there but I've missed it. It was starting to feel like home I guess."

She nodded, "I know what you mean. It's been kinda nice not having that perverse four-eyed demon making comments about the two of us and bothering me all the time but... Yeah I've missed them."

"I hope Rei has been alright..."

"Rei will have been fine..." Asuka reassured him, "Mari will have seen to that. Don't tell her I said this but... if you ever have a problem then she is the first person you'd want around. She just has a way of making you feel better. Without her I'd have... I'd probably still be not talking and being cared for in some facility."

Shinji looked up at Asuka with some concern and gently stroked her cheek with his free hand, "You care for her don't you?"

"I've told you before that I do! I just wish that..." Asuka paused and smirked, "I just wish that the stupid girl would be as open with us as she got us to be."

"What do you mean?"

"Mari has a habit of deflecting things I guess. She'll always be able to push and push for other people to open up but when it comes to her she can distract and deflect it. She makes it seem like she isn't important or that there is something else happening. It's not like I'm not able to tell when she is doing it, it's written across her face but I couldn't push her to open up. I'd always get angry with her and leave..."

"That doesn't sound like you..." Shinji smiled as he looked up into Asuka's eyes.

She peered down at him and frowned, "You know something I really dislike these little bursts of confidence and sarcasm you have."

He laughed, "Sorry I..."

"Shut up."

"So-"

She clamped her hand around his mouth whilst also making an effort to pull him furth up on the bed until he was on top of her. She released her grip around his mouth as the two of them looked at each other in silence. Shinji felt his cheeks glowing red as he looked down at her.

"I... you're really beautiful Asuka."

"Are you saying that because I am or because I was pissed off at you?"

"Both." He replied.

"At least you're honest." She smirked, "We've still got some time to kill."

He nodded, "Y-Yeah..."

"I'm going to make sure we get the truth when we get back Shinji. Then we're going to go to that tower and whether we have to find something inside it or destroy the damn thing we'll do it. Your father won't succeed."

"I know..."

They said nothing else to one another as Asuka hooked both her arms around Shinji's back and pulled him in closer. Their lips met and hands lightly touched and moved across one another's bodies. When their lips parted they did not need to exchange words, their eyes telling each other what they both wanted and needed at this very moment.

XXX

Rei let her sleeve fall back to its natural position taking care to not disturb the bandage as Ritsuko moved away and discarded the needle before placing the sample vial in a safe location for the moment.

"As always you might experience some pain in your arm and light-headedness but it'll pass. Sorry we have to keep doing this, I do hope that maybe one day I can find a permanent solution to all of this."

Rei nodded, "It is fine. I have come to accept that this is just a part of who and what I am. Many humans have to perform acts like this do they not?"

Ritsuko nodded, "That is true."

"In which case I am no different. If they do not take their medication or get checked up on they are at risk, it is the same with myself."

"Well I will still try to ease things as much as I can for you."

"Thank you. I appreciate that."

Ritsuko leaned back in her seat as the two of them fell silent. The subject of what had happened down at the facility had not yet been discussed by anyone with Rei as of yet. Maya and Misato had of course informed Ritsuko of what had happened with Makoto, the tanks and Rei herself but things had been so busy over the last day or so there had not been an opportunity to actually talk with Rei.

"How are you feeling Rei... about what happened I mean?"

Rei looked up at the ceiling, "I am unsure. I feel sad that all those copies of me had to be destroyed. I know that they were empty shells, neither living nor dead but waiting for a soul to inhabit them but I wonder if there might have been the possibility to use them in some way. At the same time I feel relief that we were able to stop him from using me in whatever he has planned. I am also happy that I am now closer to being... human than before."

Ritsuko reached out and put a hand on Rei's knee, "Rei... you are human. You were human before this and you are human now. The circumstances of your birth don't make you anything less. Just because you look different to us, just because you are different to us doesn't make you human. You were created from a human and that makes you one of us."

A small and soft smile crept onto Rei's face, "Thank you."

"Have you spoken to Mari about what happened yet?"

"No not yet. There has not been the time to do so. Besides she went through quite a lot recently herself... I did not wish to burden her with my concerns."

Ritsuko chuckled and nodded, "Understandable, but I would advise you speak to her about all of this as soon as possible. Katsuragi is on the brink of announcing a new order that people must start communicating more. She feels guilty."

"I understand... I will tell her when I return."

"Good."

"Can I ask... how you are doing?"

Ritsuko raised her eyebrows in slight surprise at Rei's question. Whilst it wasn't unlike Rei to show concern for others, especially now she just hadn't expected her to be so direct especially towards her of all people.

"I'm doing fine Rei, thank you. I am happier with my status now than I was, let’s put it that way."

"You did not enjoy being the Captain?"

"Under those circumstances no and I don't think I would under any other circumstances to be honest. I'm happier here in my lab or merely advising people, I don't think I'm cut out to lead like Katsuragi or even Maya would be."

"I understand, I do not think it would be something I would be very good at either."

"You have considered things like that?" Ritsuko asked.

"Recently I have been thinking about my future and what it is I would like to do after this is over. Before all of this I was not sure I had a future but now I am certain of it and I would to explore my options. When I no longer have to pilot I want to know what I can do."

"Have you had any ideas so far?"

Rei shook her head, "No. Not yet, I do not know what is available for someone like me in this world yet."

"I'm sure there will be plenty of options for someone like yourself. I will see what I can provide for you Rei but I would also advise talking to others about it. Katsuragi, Mari, Asuka & Shinji when they return even people like Maya and Aoba. There is more than just WILLE in this world for you and I'm sure you can be pointed in the right direction."

"Thank you."

XXX

“So are you ready to go yet Shinji?”

Shinji froze up at the sound of Asuka’s words. His grip tightened on the Eva controls as reality finally started to set in for him. The two of them were back on board the Wunder. They were once again on the ship that the two called home and he would once again have to face the people on board.

In truth he didn’t know what to expect. Misato was back in charge but what exactly did that mean for him? What would have changed on the ship itself? Would people still glare at him as he walked past or would they all now know about what happened during the Third Impact? What about Misato herself, their last encounter had been tearful as she had held him and apologized to him. Would she be like that again or would time have hardened her once more?

He felt a sickly feeling in the pit of his stomach as he loosened his grip on the controls. Asuka turned around in her seat to look at him and he considered shaking his head and telling her ‘No, I’m not ready!’

Shinji watched as Asuka’s face briefly shown a look of concern before turning to a frown. She rose up out of her seat and knelt in front of him. Her hand cupped his cheek and she turned his head to look at her. She spoke again, only this time her tone being slightly more forceful.

“I said, are you ready Shinji?”

Shinji finally nodded his head, “Y-Yeah… I think so…”

“Good.”

He heard Asuka let out a sigh as the last of the LCL drained out of the Entry Plug. She glanced towards the door and extended her hand towards Shinji and pulled him up from the seat. The two of them moved slowly towards the door at the rear of the plug.

“How… are you feeling Asuka?”

“Fine.” She muttered, “Let’s just get this over with.”

She turned the handle of the door and pushed it open to reveal the familiar environment of the Evangelion docking bay. She carefully hopped out of the entry plug and took a few cautious steps forward on the steel platform below her before coming to a stop. A few moments later there was a soft thud as Shinji also exited the plug and landed.

She turned around to face him to see that he was still trembling and that most of the colour had been lost in his cheeks. She shook her head and grabbed both of his hands pulling him towards her.

“Look at me Shinji.”

Shinji didn’t move, his eyes were glued to the floor so she released one of his hands and swiftly placed it on his chin. She lifted his head to force his eyes to be on her.

“I said look at me!”

Shinji’s eyes focused on her as she spoke, “There is nothing to be afraid of. No one here is going to say or do anything. We will go over to them and we will be welcoming back as the heroes we are. After that we go straight to our quarters and do whatever we want. We only have to face them briefly.”

Shinji nodded, “I-I know that… I know Asuka I just-“

Shinji gazed past her shoulder to see the small group of people that had gathered near to the entrance of the hangar. From here he was able to see Misato, she didn’t seem to be looking at the two of them but instead at Evangelion Unit 02.

He wasn’t able to make out the expression on her or anyone else’s face at the moment. She did however seem to be a far cry from the woman who had told the two of them to leave just over a month ago.

Shinji was terrified of what was about to happen. He didn’t know which Misato was going to be there to greet him, he didn’t know what crew was going to be there to greet him. He didn’t know what had remained the same or what had changed. He hated the uncertainty. Was this going to be the cold and unfeeling Misato again? Was the crew going to look at him as if they hated him?

He finally turned his eyes back on Asuka and nodded, “I-I think I’m ready…”

“Good.” Asuka turned around and the two of them slowly started to walk hand in hand towards the waiting group. Along the way Shinji felt her hand also shaking slightly. He wondered if Asuka was just as scared as he was. Of course that would make sense, a lot had happened to her but she was of course much better at hiding it than he was.

“Asuka… are you alright with this?” He whispered as they closed the gap.

He watched as she nodded, “Talk to me about it later.”

As the two of them approached the faces of the rest of the group became clearly. Stood just off to the side of Misato was Ritsuko and next to her was Maya. Opposite to those two was Rei and Mari. Shinji felt a little pang of excitement at seeing the two of them.

Mari was of course wearing a wide grin, completely at odds with the more serious expression the rest of the group were wearing. Rei on the other hand had something of a small smile on her lips. Shinji also noticed that the two were holding hands.

Asuka whispered to him, “Urgh, I didn’t realize she would be here too!”

Shinji let out a small laugh as they finally reached the group. They came to a stop only a few steps in front of Misato and Shinji immediately looked up into his former guardians’ eyes. Shinji felt Asuka’s hand slip away as his throat went dry.

Misato was looking down at him, he face showing zero emotion. He could feel everyone’s eyes on the two of them as he took a trembling step forward. His heart was pounding in his chest as he considered his options. Beyond Misato he could see the door to the hangar, it’d be so easy for him to run right now. To shove past the group and escape but as he cast a glance back to Asuka he knew he couldn’t do that.

Instead he looked up at Misato and spoke the same words he had said so many years ago to her when she had first welcomed him into her apartment, “I-I’m home.”

Her face softened instantly. There was a blur as she threw herself forward and pulled him into a warm and gentle embrace. He felt his own arms wrap around her as silent tears fell down his cheeks. After a time wrapped up in her arms he looked up at her, tears were rolling down her cheeks but Misato was smiling as she replied.

“Welcome home.”


	29. The Tower Suite - 1st: The Damage

Shinji reached into the wardrobe and pulled out one of the plain white shirts within before slipping it on and buttoning it up. He shut the wardrobe door and glanced at himself in the mirror. It was the first time in quite a while he had properly looked at himself. One of the first things he noticed was that he needed a haircut.

Whilst his hair hadn't grown too much in terms of length it was a little bit thicker and longer than he was used to. The second thing that he noticed was that he didn't look nervous about today. There was no paleness in his cheeks like their might have been some time ago. There were no bags under his eyes or trembling in his hands. He didn't even feel nervous.

Perhaps that was because of how they had all been welcomed back yesterday. Perhaps it was because he now knew he no longer had to be afraid of Misato. He knew the truth that Misato did care for him and that she didn't hate him like he once thought.

Shinji wondered for a moment if maybe this was just a temporary feeling. At the moment he was safe in Asuka's quarters where no one could hurt him. Perhaps as they got closer to the meeting with Misato and the others then nerves would start to kick in.

He admittedly wasn't too sure what to expect from this meeting today. Yesterday had been a fairly quick and easy affair. All he had to do yesterday was be welcomed back and reply to questions about how the two of them were.

There had been no discussion of the events of the past month or the time leading up to it. Just light conversation and lots of hugs from Misato. It had barely lasted an hour before they had been taken to their quarters to get some well-earned rest.

Shinji wasn't quite sure if what had happened yesterday was an order from MIsato, to allow Shinji and Asuka time to return and rest before anything heavy happened. Maybe it was a conscious effort on the parts of everyone to not speak of Eva's, Angels or the tower.

At one point Rei had come up to him and thanked him for his advice regarding Mari. At first Shinji had been unable to remember giving Rei any particular advice but, with Asuka in earshot, Rei had reminded him of the nature of her advice. A moment that had caused him great embarrassment and Asuka some amusement. Regardless of his embarrassment it made him very happy to see Rei and Mari were still together and in love.

Towards the end of the reunion both he and Asuka had been pulled aside by Misato. She apologized to the two of them for what happened and made a request that they both meet with her and others the next day. She had promised they would get answers.

_'I don't even know where to start with the questions... I want to know what happened during Third Impact and in the years I wasn't here. I want to know the truth about it all for both myself and Asuka. I just... what do I ask?'_

Shinji took a step away from the mirror just as the door to their bedroom opened. Asuka stepped through wearing a WILLE Uniform that Shinji had not seen before. Unlike others on the ship this was not a one piece suit but had instead been separated in a number of parts.

There was a pair of black dress trousers, not dissimilar to the ones he regularly wore, next was a red undershirt that matched the colour of Asuka's plugsuit. Over that was a white formal military jacket that she currently had unfastened. He could see the logo of WILLE emblazoned on the top right of the jacket and along the shoulders were two rectangular markings similar to the ones on the regular WILLE uniforms. Only these, much like the undershirt were also the same red as Asuka's plugsuit.

Shinji's mouth dropped open a little bit as he took in the sight of his girlfriend wearing this clothing. He had never seen her in formal wear like this before. He had of course seen her in a school uniform but that was vastly different, outside of that he had seen her wear casual summer dresses, her plugsuit or just plain jeans and t-shirts.

Asuka glanced at herself in the mirror and frowned before fidgeting with and tugging at the collar of the shirt. She fastened up the jacket before turning to look at Shinji. She gave him a nod of acknowledgement and a quick smile.

"Asuka you..." Shinji started to speak, "You look... amazing."

For a moment she frowned at him before letting out a small chuckle.

"You really think so? Personally I can't stand the thing."

Shinji shook his head, "I think you look beautiful Asuka."

Shinji positioned himself behind her and started to wrap his arms around her only for her to turn and playfully push him away. He approached again this time placing a kiss on her neck and a hand on her hips. She turned and pushed him away.

"Wow, this thing really does it for you huh? Never figured you for being a uniform guy." She laughed, "When we're done meeting with them you can have as much fun with it as you want. In fact I'll be happy to let you tear the damn thing off of me."

Shinji felt himself blush but he shot her a smile and nodded, "You really hate it that much?"

She shrugged, "It's tight around my neck, it's hot and I can't pilot in it. It's just for show, something to wear when important people are around. I am happy that you like it though, maybe I'll wear it privately for you."

She ran a finger along his cheek, "One condition though..."

Asuka disappearing into the other room for a few moments and returned clutching a dark blue undershirt and similar looking jacket to what she was wearing only with dark blue patches instead of the red.

"You let me do the exact same to you."

Shinji nodded enthusiastically as he took the items from her, "Where did you get this?"

"We... had this made for you a long time ago." Asuka said with a somewhat sombre tone, "When WILLE formed and they developed their uniforms me and Misato... requested one for you. We had it put away for when you returned and joined us."

"Asuka... I..."

"Never really had a reason to tell you about it until now. This meeting with Misato and the others, it's important. They requested we wear this stuff, I don't know why but it seems... something big happened whilst we were away. Something in WILLE and they need to be all proper."

"So Misato won't be the only one there? I thought this was about us getting answers."

Asuka shrugged, "I don't know Shinji but it doesn't matter. Whether she is the only one there or not we are going to get answers. We aren't leaving until we do."

XXX

As the two of them made their way through the vast corridors of the Wunder Shinji had become aware of the stares the pair were getting from the ship’s crew. He had grown accustomed to getting stares from people on the ship, usually they were looks of fear or distrust. This felt very different though, there was no fear or distrust on the faces of the crew.

Instead it was a look akin to sympathy and even admiration. Not one of them ignored the pair as they walked through the ship. It would have been hard to ignore them as it was with the contrast their dress uniforms provided against the standard WILLE issue uniform. Shinji did however recognize these looks, it was a look not dissimilar to one he might have gotten back at NERV so many years ago.

Shinji caught up to Asuka and whispered, “Asuka… people are looking at us.”

Asuka nodded and grinned a bit, “Of course they are, in these uniforms how can they not stare at us. I must look like a beacon or something.”

Shinji laughed, “It’s weird they… don’t seem to be scared of me anymore like they used to be.”

“Hmm, Misato must have informed them about the Third Impact. Maybe they’ve seen the footage you saw now.”

“What do you think she told them?”

She shrugged, “How should I know? We haven’t exactly been around to find out what, if anything, they’ve uncovered about it. It’s clearly better than before though, you’re probably the great hero Shinji again to these people or whatever.”

Shinji shook his head, “I… don’t really feel like a hero Asuka. I still made a mistake back them. If I hadn’t have been stopped by that spear…”

“Look just don’t think about that right now. Ignore the people looking at you and keep walking.” She shot back with a slight hint of irritation as they turned into another corridor. The two were immediately greeted by a very familiar face. Asuka couldn’t help but raise a curious eyebrow to see that this person was not along but instead was accompanied by a silver haired girl in a wheelchair.”

Asuka wondered who this person was. She contemplated the girl for a moment taking in her unique features. Her silver hair and red eyes, for a moment she wondered if maybe they had taken on board another Ayanami type somehow but of course Ayanami had blue hair and was rarely smiling like this girl was.

“Asu- Captain Shikinami! Shinji! You’ve both returned.”

Asuka nodded towards her, “Lieutenant Suzuhara, it’s nice to see you.”

Shinji on the other hand had decided to not be as formal in his greeting. He moved towards Sakura with a wide smile on his face, “Sakura! I’m glad you’re alright!”

Sakura grinned back, “Same for the two of you! We were really worried when you both had to leave like that. Things have been… Well I can’t really talk about it but it’s good to see you both back safely. I suppose you’re going to see Captain Katsuragi now?”

Shinji gave a nod, “Yeah… She wanted to see the two of us. We’re going to discuss a few things.”

“Well when you’re both done make sure you come and visit. I’ve missed you.”

“Yeah, we will!”

“Shinji Ikari?” Shinji around at sound of the sudden exclamation. He looked past Sakura to see the girl she had been pushing in the wheelchair sitting there looking at both he and Asuka with a smile on her face. She wheeled herself forwards before extending a hand towards them both.

“We…” She cut herself off, “I’ve heard a lot about you both. I’m Erika Pearson, I’m pleased to finally meet you both.”

Shinji first shook the girls hand and stepped aside to let Asuka do the same. He let Asuka speak, “We’re pleased to meet you too. I don’t recall seeing you here before.”

Erika shook her head, “I’m a recent addition. It’s something of a long story though, I would be happy to tell you both it when you’re free. I’m sure you’ll hear parts of it from your captain.”

Asuka nodded, “I’m sure we will. We have to get going now though. It was nice to see you.”

Sakura looked on as both Asuka and Shinji said their goodbyes to Erika and went on their way down the corridor towards Misato’s office. She smiled at Erika and her smile only widened to see how much Erika’s eyes had lit up. She couldn’t help but be reminded of her own reaction when seeing the Eva pilots when she herself was a child.

“So… That’s Shinji Ikari huh?” Erika said.

Sakura gave a nod, “Yup, that’s him.”

“It is strange…” Erika said, “Although I have never met him I feel… a peculiar form of familiarity when I look at him and shake his hand. It felt as though we had met once before a long time ago but… I also felt… apologetic I guess although I don’t know what for.”

XXX

Gendo Ikari was not a happy man. That much was certain to Kozo Fuyutsuki as he observed Gendo stood at the window of the craft looking out over the wastelands of the world silently. At that same time Kozo wondered if Gendo had ever been a happy man.

 _'Maybe once... a long time ago when she was here...'_ Fuyutsuki thought to himself as he continued to watch Gendo.

There had not been a moment of genuine happiness for Gendo since she had been lost though. Yet Fuyutsuki could tell that this was beyond how Gendo usually acted. He was never one to let his emotions show but Fuyutsuki had picked up on the subtle change of demeanour within Gendo. It had changed when the news had come through of Makoto's failure to acquire the new Ayanami type.

_'Of course... Ikari is not used to being out manoeuvred by others. Makoto's failure is not just a blow to Gendo it signals a loss. It's hurt him and his pride, until now you haven't been challenged.'_

Over the years Gendo had become used to being the one to set the stage. He had become used to holding the cards and predicting the actions of others. He had become used to moving the pieces into place just as he wished. Up until now he had been successful, his greatest victory coming with the elimination of SEELE and their agent, Kaworu Nagisa.

Katsuragi and the others were not SEELE though, they were actively working against Gendo and were under no illusions of the sort of man Gendo was. As much as Gendo might have liked to boast that all was going according to how he wanted it there was really no way he could predict everything. Katsuragi and the others had been able to outwit him. Perhaps this was the proof that there was still some hope left in the world.

Fuyutsuki slowly approached him and cleared his throat, "We should be arriving at the tower in a couple of hours Ikari."

"Very good." Gendo replied, "Have we had any word from our agents?"

Fuyutsuki nodded, "As we expected once the Wunder was able to destroy that lead machine the rest of the Nemesis Series dropped their attack on the other human colonies. The Wunder did have to make use of NAUTILUS though."

"So, Unit 01 has awakened again. What of WILLE?"

"It has been reported that they are in something of a state of panic at the moment. Most of the directors are wondering just how Barclay was able to do what he did and get you into Neo-London without any one of them knowing. It seems finding someone to blame is their priority right now."

"The blame lies with all of them and yet not a one of them will be able to accept that. Instead they will opt to stab one another in the back in hope of saving themselves. It is quite pitiful in a way, the way that their politics will prevent them from seeing the threat to their establishment. Yet..."

Fuyutsuki raised an eyebrow, "What is it?"

"Pirani... She will no doubt attempt to bypass their politics. Contact any of our people within Neo-London and have them watch her closely. There is little she can do but after what happened at Golgotha we cannot be too careful."

Fuyutsuki nodded and then there was a brief moment of hesitation from him. He was uncertain as to whether he should ask Gendo anything further wondering how he might react.

"Ikari, what of the Wunder itself? They still have Rei... Will this be a problem?"

He watched for any sort of reaction from Gendo. There was a brief moment where Gendo's shoulders seemed to drop ever so slightly. Perhaps a hint of disappointment, of sadness. After all despite what Rei had become through the Ayanami series Fuyutsuki knew what Rei represented to Gendo and what she had meant to him at one point.

_'You've not just been outwitted by them but you've also lost her haven't you... she was your one remaining connection to Yui...'_

After a time Gendo spoke again, "Losing Rei in that fashion was unexpected. There were many things we could have done to prevent it, maybe we should have acted quicker or not entrusted that man to do the job. Regardless it is something that has happened and it will not deter us from our goal. Little changes, if we are unable to use Rei to perform the rituals then we will just need a substitute instead."

"You mean... you can't possible mean to use him?" Fuyutsuki said quite shocked at Gendo's proclamation, "We've discussed this before Ikari. He... is capable but how would you get him to agree to it? Unlike Ayanami we can't..."

Gendo finally turned around with a smirk that sent chills down Fuyutsuki's spine, "Control him? We don't need to control him, we just need to give him a reason to make that choice."

"What reason could he possibly have?" Fuyutsuki asked, terrified of what the answer might be.

"Simple, the same reason I am doing this, to reclaim that which he has lost."

XXX

Shinji had started to feel those little pangs of nervousness in his stomach at they finally came to the door for Misato’s office. Asuka stopped a metre away from the door and turned to face him. It was so easy for her to see her boyfriend was nervous and she couldn’t blame him really. He still hadn’t had the opportunity to adjust to life in this world yet. It seemed her could barely go a week or two without something new interfering and confusing him even more.

At the centre of his thoughts had to have been Misato. She knew how important Misato was to Shinji. Misato was the one who took him in so many years ago and showed him some sort of kindness. She had not been a perfect guardian to him, she hadn’t been a perfect guardian to her either but she had been there. Misato had made a lot of mistakes, to some she maybe wouldn’t be worthy of forgiveness but this wasn’t a normal situation.

Things were of course further complicated by Asuka’s current feelings towards Misato. Asuka didn’t hate the woman by any stretch of the imagination but she felt angry and betrayed by Misato. The third impact had created a unique bond between Misato, Asuka and Mari. The three of them were together in it and supposed to tell each other everything and progress together. Misato had broken that promise, she had deliberately hid things from Asuka.

Yet for Shinji’s sake Asuka was going to remain calm. She was going to keep herself under control and make sure he was alright. She took his hand and gave him a reassuring smile.

“You’re nervous aren’t you?”

Shinji nodded, “Yeah… Pretty stupid huh? After yesterday when we were welcomed back by them all too…”

Asuka shook her head, “Not at all. Just remember, this isn’t your only chance to speak to her. Don’t think you have to cover everything today but Shinji…”

Asuka’s expression turned serious for a moment, “Don’t be afraid of asking her tough questions. Those things that happened to you, why they happened to you and just what is going on here. We need those answers, don’t be afraid of hurting her and don’t be afraid of being hurt. I’m here for you.”

She stepped forward and kissed him softly but firmly on his lips. She pushed him away playfully when she saw him start to put his arms around her and try to move a little bit closer.

“Not now Shinji, after we get this over and done with.”

Shinji nodded again, “Okay.”

With their hands intertwined Asuka led him through the door into Misato’s office. Once inside fully they were greeted by the sight of Misato sat behind her desk. The woman rose from her seat, she too also wearing a similar dress uniform to the two of them. At first there was a brief look of fear on her face as her gaze turned towards Shinji but she quickly masked this with a warm and welcoming smile.

“Asuka, Shinji… Thank you both for coming.” Misato said surprisingly using both of their first names. Shinji had expected Asuka to have been addressed by rank.

Both of them made their way to the desk and Misato’s smile faded, she took off the hat and placed it down.

“We… Have a lot to discuss don’t we?”

“Yeah… We do.” Asuka replied somewhat bluntly.

Asuka and Shinji sat themselves down on the seats positioned in front of Misato’s desk, “My schedule for the entire afternoon is free. First I should let you both know, the reason I asked you to come in the dress uniforms is because we are expecting Director Pirani at some point. It will not interfere with what we are doing here, I want to make that clear but after what has happened I felt it best to welcome her formally. Is that a problem?”

Shinji shook his head, “N-No…”

Asuka followed suit, “Not that I can think of.”

“Thank you.” Misato sat herself down and continued, “As for this afternoon you are free to ask me whatever you wish to. I will attempt to answer as best I can and if I am unable to do so then I will make every effort to find someone who can. I have made a promise to the crew of this ship that there will be no more lies or secrets. I intend to keep that promise. I know it doesn’t sound like much given what has happened but you two are very important to me, I want you to… trust me again.”

There was a brief moment of silence as awkward looks were exchanged between the three occupants of the room. Asuka was tempted to say something, there were a few things going through her head but she kept quiet for Shinji’s sake. She could wait for him to find out what he wanted to and then ask her own questions.

She wondered if maybe she should prompt him or give him a gentle nudge but after some time he finally broke the silence, “Misato I… I don’t really know what I should say or ask.

“It’s alright… take your time Shinji.” Misato responded.

“I guess… I want to know what happened during Third Impact and afterwards. What did I miss?”

Misato glanced at him for a moment before shaking her head, “The Near-Third Impact… We’re still not completely sure to be honest.”

“We know what Shinji definitely wasn’t to blame for it though don’t we?” Asuka asked.

Misato gave a small nod, “Yes that is correct, Shinji was not to blame.”

Shinji cut in, “But… I don’t understand. You say I’m not to blame but who is? I saw the footage of it and… I know exactly what I did or at least what I nearly did. If I hadn’t have been stopped then what would have happened and if I was stopped then, who did cause it to happen?”

Misato seemed slightly hesitant in forming an answer to Shinji’s questions. Maybe through fear or hurting him, dredging up bad memories or not having a full answer to give him. Finally she let out a sigh, “It’s true that if you hadn’t have been stopped then what you started would have continued and put simply it would have… been devastating but you were stopped. We don’t know who it was exactly nor do we know why not a one of us can remember it happening but we at least have proof that you were stopped. The pilot of the Mark 06 and their spear saw to it.”

“So… if I was stopped what was the Near Third Impact? Who was the pilot of the Mark 06?”

She shook her head, “It seems that in the time between you being stopped and the Mark 06 appearing something else was triggered the devastated the immediate area but it did set into motion a process that would change the world. As far as the pilots’ identity goes we never saw them for ourselves but… we think we know who it was now.”

“Who?” Asuka asked.

“He’s called Kaworu Nagisa.”

Shinji felt his entire body freeze up on hearing Kaworu’s name spoken like that. His eyes grew wider and he could feel his chest tighten. He wanted to ask Misato to say the name again just in case there was a chance he had misheard her somehow but he knew he didn’t need to do that.

All he could do now was sit open mouthed in shock. He wanted to say something, anything in reply to Misato but no words were coming out. Shinji had still never really come to terms with what had happened to Kaworu. He and Asuka might have spoken about it a couple of times if Shinji had had one of his nightmares but it was usually a brief and undetailed conversation.

The only other time he had really come up in conversation was when Asuka had mentioned seeing him in WILLE many years ago. Shinji knew that there were a number of mysteries surrounding Kaworu, one look at the boy could have told you that but when he encountered Kaworu at NERV he never wanted to ask Kaworu about it.

After all when he had woken up in this strange new world to face a world that he thought hated him, Kaworu had been the first and only one to offer him friendship, he had been the first to offer him love and support and Shinji did not want to risk losing that.

Now Shinji realized that he really did know so very little about who Kaworu was or even what Kaworu was. All he knew what that Kaworu had been there for him and then Kaworu had died because of Shinji’s actions. He felt the sting of tears in his eyes but sniffed and quickly tried to wipe any trace of them away. He took a deep breath to steady himself and looked up to see the concerned stare from Misato.

“Shinji, are you alright?”

Shinji finally nodded and was able to get his words out again, “I’m… Kaworu is a tough subject for me.”

Misato gave a nod, “I… only know a few details. I am sorry if mentioning him upset you.”

Shinji forced a small smile, “No! I wanted to know the truth about everything. It’s just… when I was at NERV Kaworu was… he was my friend and…”

Shinji felt the warmth of Asuka's hand around his as he paused again as he struggled to get his words out. Asuka's hand tightened as she gave him a comforting smile. He didn't want to recall any of these memories but in the interest of learning the truth he had to. No matter how painful they might be.

"Kaworu was... there at NERV when I was. He ended up being killed because of my actions. The collar that... was meant to be on me. Kaworu was able to remove it and put it on himself. When we were down there with those lances he... told me to stop but I didn't... I couldn't because I had believed in him so much when he said pulling those lances would set things right that when... when he said it was all wrong and to stop I couldn't believe him."

"Shinji... I..." Misato started to speak but thought it would be best to not say anything. She had heard very little about what had happened at NERV. Asuka and Mari had given her a brief report of things but she knew little from Shinji's side of things. How could she? It wasn't like she had stopped to ask him.

"After I pulled the spears the collar... it activated. Kaworu mentioned something about my father and him being cast down as an Angel. I didn't really understand it but Kaworu... he..." Shinji let out a sob as the vivid and horrific memories of what had happened on that day flashed through his mind, "...Kaworu... the collar... it..."

Shinji couldn't speak anymore as he sobbed loudly, tears streamed down his face as Misato suddenly stood up and made her way to him. She pulled him towards her and hugged the boy as he sobbed into her shoulder. She didn't need him to continue speaking to know what had happened next. She knew just what that collar was made for and what would happen if it had been activated. She couldn't even begin to imagine the sheer horror that Shinji must have witnessed.

"Shinji... I'm so sorry. That collar it... it's horrific I know... You should never have witnessed that. It should never have been used."

"And yet it was you who ordered it to be put on Shinji not once but twice..." Asuka spoke not even trying to hide the anger in her voice.

Misato kept her arms around the sobbing boy and dared not meet the gaze of Asuka, "I know Asuka and an apology isn't enough to make up for that. I am sorry, it was never meant... I didn't want to activate it ever, I put it on you because I..."

Shinji pulled away from her for a moment, with tears still running down his face he looked up at her, "Kaworu was my friend Misato... I... I cared for him but I also killed him."

Shinji buried his head into her shoulder once again and she held him tightly, gently rubbing his back in a comforting manner. She did her best to ignore the piercing glare that Asuka was giving her. She felt worse than awful right now, she felt like she had no right to be holding Shinji like this considering what he was talking about was her fault.

"Asuka..."

Asuka shook her head and cut her off, "Don't..."

"I..." Misato lowered her gaze as Shinji finally seemed to compose himself once again. He pulled away from Misato who handed him a tissue from her desk to wipe his eyes with. Quietly he sat himself back down next to Asuka who put her hand into his.

Shinji shook his head, "I... I'm sorry."

"No, you have nothing to be sorry for Shinji. You've been through so much and... If you feel you can't continue we can resume this later."

"No, I want to continue but I'll let Asuka talk for a bit if that's okay?"

Asuka didn't take long to ask Misato anything, "Nagisa... Who exactly was he, I saw him in WILLE didn't I?"

Misato took a moment to get her thoughts in order, "Nagisa was SEELEs chosen pilot. He never appeared on any list of candidates I had access to. Beyond that I know nothing about him. I don't know his date of birth, where he was born, who his parents were or his education. He is, or at least was a complete blank slate."

"SEELEs pilot?"

Misato nodded, "We didn't know this at first, not really a way to know it. Kaworu appeared to us not too long after the incident. I thought it was suspicious a new Eva pilot suddenly being found like that but everything was backed up. Of course now I know differently. Kaworu stayed with us for a short amount of time before and after WILLE was set up. Suddenly he was recalled back home and we never heard of or from him again."

"Never heard from him again, isn't that a bit strange?"

"N-No, when you leave NERV everything is erased right? So it'd have been the same for him." Shinji added, his voice still shaky, "When I left... they were going to do the same to me."

"I see." Asuka said, "So he was there when WILLE was being set up! That explains why I saw him."

Misato nodded, "He was there for the early stages of your recovery but by the time you were speaking again he had been recalled."

"If you only saw him for that amount of time how do you know he was the pilot of the Mark 06?" Asuka asked.

"Back then we didn't know what he was supposed to have been the pilot of and even now we can't be certain. The only reason we think it now is because we've been provided a number of leaked documents by the same anonymous source who provided Pirani with the lost footage of the Third Impact. These documents show sync test scores and core data linking Nagisa to the Mark 06."

"And the link to SEELE?"

"We were able to match the location to a SEELE run facility."

"I see." Asuka turned to look at Shinji who had remained silent and was clearly troubled by what he was hearing. She knew just what Kaworu had meant to Shinji and how difficult a subject this would be but she also wanted to hear more.

"Kaworu was my friend Misato. He wasn't a bad person. He just wanted to fix things like I wanted to and he thought he could help me. He wanted to make people happy, I know he wouldn't hurt anyone."

"Shinji I..." Misato trailed off quite unsure of what exactly to say to him. She had only spoken to Kaworu on a handful of occasions, the boy had seemed nice enough but he generally kept to himself. He would often be found performing on a piano in one of the rec rooms. Misato remembered being impressed by how good he was, he would always draw a crowd of onlookers.

It was clear to her that Shinji had an attachment to the boy that clearly went beyond simple friendship. It was this that made her wonder if maybe Shinji was right about the boy being a good person. It might be true that Kaworu was not everything he appeared to be but perhaps that didn't make him a bad person either.

"I wish I had more to tell you about him Shinji. I wish I could tell you more about who he was or even what he was. I don't doubt that he was a good person but there were things he hid from you and..."

"It's fine." Shinji suddenly interrupted her, "Kaworu must have had a reason for it. If you don't know when we should just move on."

"Are you sure Shinji?" Misato asked.

He nodded, "I'm sure."

He frowned as he continued, "I can only think of one person who would know more and... he isn't here to ask and he probably wouldn't give me an answer anyway."

"We will find him Shinji and we will stop him and then you can ask him anything you want. I promise you that." Misato said sternly.

"No. I don't want to have anything to do with him. I don't want to see him ever again, not after... not after everything he had done."

"I understand." She said, "Should we move on?"

"Yeah" Shinji paused to gather his thoughts, "So after I... was stopped what happened? Asuka and the others have told me parts of it they can remember but you were there for the entire thing."

"After we woke up we saw that it had been a few hours since things had been triggered. We were safe in the Geofront but Tokyo-3 and NERV headquarters had been all but decimated. The battle with the tenth Angel had saw to most of that anyway.” She watched for any sort of reaction from Shinji, he shifted in his seat but said nothing as she went on, “By some sort of miracle we had survived and the shelters nearby had also managed to remain intact. Also… Unit 01 and the Angel had completely vanished.”

“Unit 01 had vanished?” Shinji asked.

Misato gave a nod, “Yes. I can… It was a big shock at the time but we didn’t have too much time to think about it. Our priority was the people in those shelters. The survivors who hadn’t fled from the city by that time were rounded up and taken into what liveable space there was within NERV whilst we waited for help.”

“What about him, was he still there?”

Misato shook her head, “No, he and Fuyutsuki had vanished as well. We assumed they had simply fled at the start of the battle or simply perished. No one was too heartbroken about it but we did send a search party to look for them. We found no trace of them and our own survival took priority. Unfortunately this was only a brief moment of peace for us, the real problems would begin afterwards.”

“What do you mean?”

“Put simply NERV had failed in its task. Word quickly spread throughout the governments of the world that a Third Impact had been triggered and although it had been stopped before any serious damage could be done it was clear to them that NERV was not fit for purpose. Even worse they learned that it had been an Evangelion that had nearly done it, the very weapon created to prevent it from happening.”

Shinji glanced down at the ground, “I’m sorry…”

“Shinji…” Asuka growled.

Misato knew she shouldn’t but she couldn’t help but chuckle at the little exchange, “Despite the Third Impact being aborted and not causing much damage at first it was obviously still a big event. The world had witnessed it and soon was on the brink of throwing itself into chaos once again. NERV had failed, that of course meant someone else must take up the mantle but if not NERV than who? Over the course of those initial few weeks and months countries began to question the very agreements and treaties they had signed up to, this questioning led to minor disagreements, the minor disagreements led to major arguments and of course the major arguments would lead to war.”

“It was around that time that I woke up wasn’t it?” Asuka asked, “I can’t remember much but I remember hearing people talk about some sort of war happening?”

Misato nodded, “Yes it was. We were still working within NERV at that time. We had managed to repair most of the damage to the building, equipment and Eva’s in case we needed them. Fortunately no Angels appeared, we thought maybe that was it, they were all gone.”

“Who was in charge?” Shinji asked.

“Myself, Ritsuko and Kaji were leading ‘NERV’ at the time but we all knew NERVs days were numbered and we couldn’t stay in that area. Strange things were starting to happen, we were seeing bizarre anomalies in the area, impossible formations growing out of the ground and the ground turning a blood red. We thought it would be best to get out of there, leave NERV and start fresh.”

She paused to sip from a cup of coffee on her desk, “Around that time we finally uncovered some information on the group known as SEELE. Kaji had been looking into them for some time and along with that we discovered solid proof of the links between SEELE and your father. Unfortunately someone leaked this to the media, along with evidence of Unit 01 and the Third Impact. So we had to make a move.”

“So what happened?” Shinji asked.

“Most of the civilians with NERV had already been evacuated and rehomed by that point. We were little more than a skeleton crew of people devoted to the truth at that point. So the UN staged a raid within NERV. They made it public knowledge and said their goal was to uncover the location of Gendo Ikari and SEELE. We took the opportunity to renounce NERV and what it stood for and join a new UN organization called WILLE.”

“WILLE… this is who you are now.”

“Correct, as the years have gone on our role has changed. Initially our goal was to seek out NERV and SEELE and stop them. By the time we were up and running the world had changed, the changes that had started in the centre of Tokyo-3 had spread and the UN was no longer able to operate as it used to. WILLE was what was left of the UN, around that time Espèrer was born as well and other factions have sprung up over the years. There was tension but we were all working hard for peace.”

“Did it work?”

“Yes but only just. People were terrified of what had happened to the world, the transformations that were taking place to the squabbles between people and threats of war were retracted. Although we split into different factions we all tried to go forward as one species and save this world.”

Shinji looked up, “I… There is so much I didn’t know.”

“There is so much to tell you Shinji, more than I can really go into right now. Even I don’t know all of it.”

“I understand.” Shinji smiled, “I think… I’ve heard enough of what I wanted to. Asuka, you should… speak now.”

Asuka looked at him in surprise and raised a curious eyebrow, “Are you sure?”

“Yeah… It’s important. This isn’t just about me.”

Misato turned to face Asuka and couldn’t help but feel slightly nervous as she looked down at the girl that she had failed so badly. Asuka fixed her with a sharp stare before nodding, “Okay fine. I want you to be honest with me Misato.”

Misato nodded, “I will be.”

“The Angel, what did it do to me? Why did you and Akagi hide it from me and… what is inside my Evangelion?”

XXX

Mari let out a loud and somewhat exaggerated yawn as she pulled the covers up around her and sleepily draped an arm over her girlfriends warm. She looked into Rei's eyes and watched as the blue haired girl gave one of her small and subtle smiles before turning to run a hand through Mari's soft hair. Mari responded by purring and snuggling her head into Rei's shoulder as the two basked in the afterglow of their love.

Rei lay back and pulled the girl on top of her and continued to let her snuggle into her body. She had never really stopped to contemplate the nature of things such as luck in the past but at this precise moment in time and in her exact situation she felt what she was an extremely lucky person.

It was only a few months ago that she was barely anything in this world. She was just a shell of a human living out a solitary existence and waiting for her next set of orders. She didn't care whether she lived or died, after all if she died a replacement would be right around the corner. At that point in time she had nothing, she had no friends, no family, no meaning and no one that loved her.

In a short space of time that had all changed. Rei had managed to attain those very things that she had lacked. She had friends now, she had family now and she had someone to love in the form of the grinning nude girl lying in her arms. Rei Ayanami felt lucky and truly happy.

"Mmm... They should be meeting with Katsuragi right now right?" Mari asked.

"Yes." Rei replied, "I hope that they are able to obtain the answers they desire."

"I'm sure Katsuragi will tell them everything she can. She felt awful about everything that happened..." Mari paused, "As she should I guess but she wants to make things right. I just wonder how the Puppy and the Princess will take it."

"Should we go along there in case they need our support?" Rei asked.

Mari gave a glance towards the bedroom door before shaking her head, "Nah! We don't know how long they'll be and besides, I'm rather enjoying myself here. We've not been able to spend a day like this before."

"Should we really be staying in bed like this all day? Is that possible?"

"Well I'm sure we'll probably have to get up to go to the bathroom and also eat at some point but I'm certainly game to give it a go if you are?" Mari giggled before propping herself up over Rei and dotting little kisses onto Rei's cheeks and along both of her shoulders, "You know how much I enjoy a challenge."

Rei felt her smile widen as she wrapped her arms around Mari and loving stroked down along the girls back and sides. The two of them lay like this for a time and once more Rei's thoughts turned towards Shinji and what he must be going through right now.

_'I hope that you can get the answers you need Shinji, you deserve that happiness.'_

XXX

As soon as Asuka had asked her question Misato knew it was not going to be an easy one to answer. The simple truth was that Misato didn't quite know those answers herself but she did know someone who would be able to shed some light on it. She had therefore summoned Ritsuko, only to find the woman had been otherwise pre-occupied at the time of calling. This left the three of them to sit in a slightly awkward silence as they waited for her second in command to arrive.

Asuka was sitting with a scowl on her face, her arms folded and not taking her eyes off of Misato. Shinji on the other hand kept on looking between Asuka and Misato as he went over the things he had heard over the course of the morning.

Some more light had been shed for him on the events surrounding Third Impact. Whilst it had answered a few questions he had and also eased his mind in understanding he wasn't entirely to blame for the state of the world he still had more questions. Unfortunately they were questions that couldn't be answered at this time. What exactly was his father doing and why? Also who exactly was Kaworu Nagisa?

Despite those questions still lingering he was thankful for what he had learned. More importantly he felt that he could maybe start to let go of some of the guilt and baggage of his past.

He hoped that this would be the case for Asuka as well. It was his hope that maybe Ritsuko would provide what Asuka needed and help to ease her mind. He could only imagine some of what Asuka must be feeling right now. Certainly the feelings of guilt and horror at what she had nearly done within Unit 02 were feelings he had experienced as well.

Perhaps not so relatable was the confusion she must be feeling right now. The revelations about what might be inside Unit 02 and also the fear about what that Angel might have done to her so many years ago were playing on her mind. Misato and Ritsuko had not helped these matters, not telling her the things she needed to and had a right to know. Shinji could understand why she was so angry.

Despite her anger at their former guardian Shinji also knew that Asuka cared for Misato, much like he himself did. It was part of why dealing with this was so painful. Those bonds they had forged many years ago were still there. They could be repaired but it would not be easy.

Finally after more moments of silence the door to the office opened and Ritsuko stepped inside, her cheeks were red, she seemed out of breath and her hair was messier compared to normal. Shinji could see her jacket had just been thrown on and he got the impression that the woman had literally just gotten out of bed, thrown on her clothes and ran her. It was a state that Shinji did not think her would ever see, the normally professional looking, Ritsuko Akagi in. He turned towards Misato who was smirking with raised eyebrows at Ritsuko.

"My apologies for being late." Ritsuko said as she stepped into the room and did her best to avoid Misato's gaze.

"I understand, we've all had busy nights from time to time." Misato replied still smirking, "As long as both you and Maya were able to get whatever it was you were working on finished."

Ritsuko's cheeks seemed to glow ever so redder at Misato's teasing comment. She did her best to ignore it as she adjusted her jacket, "I understand that there are certain things I'm needed to explain?"

"Well that is, if you're not in the middle of something important. You can always go and fini-"

"I am perfectly fine!" Ritsuko cut her off sharply. It was quite a strange sight to see Misato acting in such a teasing fashion towards someone again, especially someone like Ritsuko. He had gotten so used to seeing the stoic Misato of the past few months that he had all but forgotten what she could actually be like.

At the same time seeing a flustered Ritsuko was also a source of amusement. He laughed and turned towards Asuka. She was still frowning and clearly was not amused by the display between Ritsuko and Misato.

Recognizing this Misato cleared her throat and realized that it was probably best to move back to the subject at hand. Given the seriousness of the situation perhaps it was a little bit inappropriate to be making jokes in front of the two of them. She nodded at Ritsuko, “We are… talking about a few of the things that have happened here both recently and in the past. I’ve been trying to… put things right.”

Ritsuko looked towards the two of them and then down at the floor, “I understand. I should… probably do the same.”

She looked towards Shinji, “Shinji I… owe you an apology.”

 _‘Damn right you do!’_  Asuka thought to herself as she sat there quietly just staring a hole through Ritsuko.

“For many things actually but first of all for your treatment when you first woke up from your prison. I… cannot be forgiven for what I recommended and I am sorry. As for you Asuka, I… also owe you an apology.”

“I don’t want an apology, I want answers.” Asuka stated flatly, “What happened to me fifteen years ago? What did that Angel do my body?”

Ritsuko brought up a screen and aimed it towards the two of them, she took a little bit of time to log into the system before pulling up a folder with a number of reports in them. A number of images flashed up on screen before settling on a picture of Unit 03 before the attack. Asuka felt a shudder run down her spine and this time it was Shinji who put his hand in hers for comfort.

“Asuka this is going to be tough and I know you’ve told people many times already but can you tell me what you remember of that day. Leading up to and during the attack?”

Asuka frowned again and nodded, “I remember every little thing as if it were yesterday. I can remember being on my way down to Unit 03, I had to wear that god awful plugsuit. I had just got done talking to Misato on the phone and then before I knew it I was at Unit 03. It didn’t seem too different from Unit 03, maybe a little bit colder but like that mattered. I got into the entry plug as normal and I waited for the activation to begin. Suddenly…”

Asuka trailed off, recalling that day was clearly tougher for her than she had let on. Shinji could feel her hands trembling as she glanced down at the ground to compose herself. He gently ran his thumbs over her hand in a comforting gesture and squeezed her hand softly.

“Everything went wrong. The world just… dropped away from me and all I could feel was this cold emptiness around me. I’d… never been as cold as that before. A moment later all I could feel was pain like something was trying to drill into my head. It was… It… Look you’ve heard me talk about this before, I just… what happened?”

“I know this is tough.” Ritsuko replied, “What happened at that point was the Angel making itself known. It coincided with Unit 03 being activated. The first thing the Angel did was to make contact with you inside the entry plug. We think that it might have tried to use you as some sort of host in order to control the Eva but… you resisted it.”

She brought up another screen now which shown a cutaway diagram of an entry plug. Marked next to it was a scale from 0 to 100.

“After you were able to resist it the Angel took the next option it had. It sent the entry plug towards the core of the Angel and rendered you unconscious. When it was within the core it started to spread and tried to take over the Eva that way.”

“It tried to… use me as a host?” Asuka asked.

Ritsuko nodded, “Yes but as said you were able to resist it. We think that its aim might have been to use you and blend in. When you resisted it settled on plan B, to take over the Eva itself. It was messier but effective.”

Ritsuko pointed towards the 100 on the diagram, “As you both know the deeper the entry plug towards the core the more power and control you have over your Evangelion but this comes at a cost. Injuries sustained to the Eva manifest on the pilot and beyond that you can risk being absorbed into the core and losing your humanity. Worst case scenario is the Eva can be awakened.”

“So… I was absorbed into the core?”

Ritsuko shook her head, “Not quite. At first we feared that might have happened and we would never recover you. Fortunately we did recover you but your injuries were very severe and we were afraid at first that the Angel might have infected you.”

“And had it?”

Ritsuko shook her head, “We could find no trace of it at the time but there was definitely something strange going on that we couldn’t figure out. You see when you were recovered you were put into a chamber not dissimilar to the one we used for Rei’s recovery when she boarded the Wunder. Your injuries were that severe, considering the damage that the dummy plug did to Unit 03 we were surprised to even recover a body.”

Shinji cringed at hearing Ritsuko say those words. It was like a dagger through his heart to think of how close Asuka had been to death at that point. He knew she had been hurt badly but never knew the extent of it. He had never been given the opportunity to see her afterwards and the next time he would see her would be fourteen years later.

“Shinji, it wasn’t your fault. The dummy plug… your father refused to shut it off even when the battle was won.” Misato said to him, trying to ease his discomfort.

“I know that Misato but… it hurts.”

“So I was put into the tank, what next? You feared contamination whilst I was recovering right?” Asuka asked.

“Yes, we started to… notice a few things when you were in there. Sometimes you would produce an A.T. Field randomly or there would be a glow from your eye. We could never find any concrete evidence that the Angel was present though.”

“And have you now?”

Ritsuko nodded, “We are… aware of what happened.”

“So what happened?”

“The chamber wasn’t new technology back then, it had actually been developed years prior by a scientist in Germany. Your mother to be precise, she wanted to test the healing powers of LCL and tissue from an Adam or Lilith based lifeform but she never got the opportunity to test it.”

Asuka could feel her lips tremble in response to Ritsuko’s words. She bit down and nodded silently.

“We used it on you, the lifeform we used as a base was Unit 02. It was Misato’s idea and it seemed appropriate at the time.”

Asuka nodded again, “And?”

“Against all odds your body did start to heal, it was much faster than we ever imagined possible. Every part of you except of course for your eye. As miraculous as your recover was it was also… impossible…”

“So you suspected contamination?”

“Exactly, we couldn’t find anything but we knew it was a risk and we kept a close eye on you. As the years went on you showed no signed of anything negative so our theory was it was the chamber causing the anomalies. Eva based technology was and is experimental, there are always going to be random elements to it as you both now.”

“So you thought it had gone away until recently?”

It was Misato who spoke this time, “Yes, when we recovered Shinji to be precise, we detected it then. A few times afterwards we noticed anomalous readings. I… made the call to monitor but not tell you about it. We didn’t want to… No wait that’s not it. I didn’t want to disrupt the mission, I thought…”

“You thought you could use me to get to the tower and then tell me right? That if you just held on all would be okay?” Asuka said bitterly.

“Yes.”

Ritsuko ignored the two of them and continued, “We… studied your readings and data carefully but again we couldn’t actually find anything linking it and the Angel together. It was… an anonymous source, the same one who gave us the footage that confirmed the truth.”

“So what is the truth?”

“It is not because of an Angel you are able to do those things inside of your Eva. There is no risk too you or anyone else in that regard.” Ritsuko explained, “But those things you experienced, the reason you can push the Eva so far is because the thing inside your Eva is allowing you to.”

Asuka readied herself for the answer. She took a sharp intake of breath and waited for Ritsuko to give her that confirmation, to say what she and Shinji already suspected. Time seemed to slow down and her stomach churned with anticipation.

“Your mothers’ soul is alive inside Evangelion Unit 02. That is why you can do those things.” Ritsuko turned to Shinji, “The same is true for Unit 01 as well.”

All Asuka could do was sit and stare straight ahead, finally she let out a reply her voice low, “How long have you known?”

“Not very long Asuka, maybe a day or two before you and Shinji went away.” Misato replied.

“I… did suspect something strange for a long time with the Eva’s.” Ritsuko admitted, “Unit 01 would… act strangely back in Tokyo-3 and knowing how both your mothers died it seemed… strange but I never… knew.”

“So this source… they confirmed it?”

Misato nodded, “The same one that has helped us a few times already. They even tipped us off about Makoto.”

Shinji looked up in confusion, “Makoto? What does he have to do with any of this?”

“Makoto was… a traitor. He was working with your father Shinji.” Ritsuko replied.

“We don’t know anything about this source but…” Misato looked up, “We suspect that they are high up somewhere and your father probably trusts them in some capacity. There are probably a vast number of people who fit that description, your father has many people working for him around the world. Regardless of who it is it has helped us.”

Shinji was about to say something else when Asuka suddenly rose up from her seat, “I have to go, please… excuse me.”

Shinji also rose and turned to see his girlfriend had gone very pale. He reached out to stroke her cheek but she quickly pushed his hand away.

“I-I don’t… Please just leave me for a few moments Shinji…”

“A-Asuka are you alright?” Shinji said trying to not show he was upset at her actions.

She shook her head and forced a small smile onto her lips, “I will… be alright. I just need to be alone for a few moments. I need to get out of here and take a walk or something. Please don’t worry about me, just stay here and talk to Misato. Ask about… whatever… Misato tell him the story about me getting drunk for the first time and throwing up in the potted plant you always liked that one I just… I have to go.”

Misato rose up too and started to make her way towards Asuka, “Asuka are you alright, do you need Sakura or something?”

“Please just… leave me alone!” Asuka snapped back, “I just… What I just found out I… I need to get out of here!”

Asuka didn’t wait for anyone to say anything else, she turned and bolted out of the room. Shinji called after her and went to follow but felt Misato’s hand rest on his shoulder and pull him back. He turned to look up at her.

“No, let her be alone for a moment. What we just told her, it’ll be a lot to take in. I’ll… send someone who can help her.”


	30. The Tower Suite - 2nd: Together We Stand

It was very difficult for Shinji to quite come to terms with what it was he was seeing in front of him. It was perhaps even harder for him to imagine what it was that might lay in store for them. They were only a few hundred metres from the tower but getting to it would not be easy. Between themselves and the tower lay a vast wasteland that was at first protected by a large A.T. Field like dome.

Once through that dome were a large number of Nemesis Series. Shinji watched as a large swarm of the disc like entities flew around orbiting the tower. Situated around the tower were many other swarms of the beings. The swarms reminded Shinji of a swarm of insects only much larger.

On the ground surrounding the tower were a great number of the huge tripod-like figures that had been encountered by Asuka and Mari over a month ago. There were groups of them arranged in curved line-like formations at regular intervals around the tower. On the perimeter just where the dome of the A.T. Field was a number of the figures could be seen patrolling.

Shinji’s eyes now shifted towards the tower itself. He had seen still images of it since they had learned of its appearance but somehow those still images didn’t quite do it justice in how horrifying and inhuman it really was. As the Nemesis Series swarmed around and protected it, the blood red colour and the twisted geology of the wasteland made it represent something akin to a scene from a nightmare than the heavenly tower it was named for.

Shinji shifted himself in the seat of the cockpit. He knew it wouldn’t be long now until they would commence the mission. There was absolutely no turning back now no matter how terrified he felt. For Shinji though it was not so much the fight to the tower that frightened him, it was what he knew lay within. What he knew he would have to face when they were inside.

“You’re thinking about him aren’t you?” Asuka asked, her voice a solemn tone.

“Is it that obvious?” Shinji responded with a half-hearted smile.

“What can I say, I’m psychic!” She forced a laugh, “Shinji, you’re not going to be facing him alone. Please remember that. No matter what happens between now and then I will be there right alongside you.”

 _“Leaving someone out there Princess? Don’t forget we’re gonna be there too!”_ Mari’s voice echoed through the cockpit startling both Shinji and Asuka.

“Mari! What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Asuka yelled, “This is a private conversation!”

_“Well Princess if this is a private conversation, why are you broadcasting it on the main channel?”_

“What the hell are you talking about?” Asuka glanced down at her HUD and across to the communications panel. She felt her cheeks begin to burn a deep red as she confirmed what Mari had just been saying. In the background she could hear the sounds of a few people chuckling.

 _“As amusing as this is you guys we need to focus.”_ Misato’s voice was heard now over the channel,  _“She is right though Shinji. You aren’t going to be facing him alone, we are all doing this together. Asuka, Mari, Rei… You have us here on the Wunder and Karim and his people are here too. We’re all here.”_

“I know Misato, thank you…” Shinji looked down and clenched both his hands into a fist before unclenching them and looking back up towards the image of the tower. He cast his mind back to receiving the news the other day. His father had been sighted travelling towards the tower, somehow he had managed to beat them all to it.

It was still a mystery as to how he had managed to get through both the A.T. Field and the swarms of Nemesis series unscathed but that didn’t matter. It had happened so there was no point thinking about how for the moment.

His sudden appearance had accelerated their schedule somewhat. They had all desired more time to study the tower and what was around it. Maybe find a safe way through to it but now they had to launch an all-out assault on it. They could not let Gendo Ikari do whatever it was he was planning.

Shinji turned and looked out across the hangar bay to Unit 08. He wondered just what Mari and Rei were feeling right now. Something like this probably wouldn’t be easy for Rei either, after all she had spent more time with his father than he ever had done. In truth she probably knew him better than Shinji did.

He leaned forward and opened a private channel to Unit 08, “Um… Rei, how are you feeling about this?”

There was a brief pause and then finally her voice was heard, as soft as ever,  _“I am feeling okay, after all I am not alone in this.”_

XXX

“I am feeling okay, after all I am not alone in this.” Rei spoke softly back to him and watched as Mari closed the connection to the comm channel.

Rei looked up towards the tower herself and felt her heartrate rise ever so slightly. In truth she was not quite as 'okay' as she had told Shinji. She was scared right now, it was a feeling that she had been slowly getting used to as she regained the humanity she had lost over those many years she was ensnared by Gendo.

She retained that faith she had always had in the people around her. The people she had faith in might have changed, back in NERV she always believed in the Commander and his work. She had always believed that was why everything would be alright and knowing she could be replaced so easily helped to ease any fear.

Now however she could no longer be replaced but she still retained that feeling of faith in others. Shinji, Asuka, Mari, Misato and the many others behind them would all work and do their best to make sure they won. She knew this, she believed they would win and yet that fear remained.

Mari's voice interrupted her thoughts, "Well this is going to be an interesting one isn't it blue? All those enemies sat out there, the mythical Tower Of Babel and Gendo himself. You think we got this?"

Rei nodded, "I am certain that we will not fail. Yet I am also scared, is that bad?"

She saw Mari shake her head before turning around to grin at her, "Not at all Blue, do you think anyone here isn't scared?"

Rei nodded, "Both yourself and Asuka seem to be very calm at this moment."

"Heh, calm and terrified Blue. That goes for me and Asuka, we just know how to mask it well I guess but... well she'll be scared right now and so am I."

"What are you both afraid of?"

Mari shrugged, "The usual, being hurt in here, something going wrong and us failing, losing people... It varies but I figure it's good to be afraid. Reminds us of what we could lose and makes us work harder to protect it. Were you never scared when you piloted?"

Rei shook her head, "I... do not believe so. It is a feeling I am unfamiliar with but have been feeling more recently. I suppose... it is a side effect of reclaiming my humanity."

"Maybe so..."

"Although I feel like it has always been a part of me." Rei looked down, "When I used to pilot I feel like I was not afraid of being hurt or being killed but of being without a purpose... of not being needed."

Mari gave a nod, "I understand that. Asuka worried about the same thing when she started piloting again, worried that maybe with me there and her injuries she wouldn't be needed anymore. You are not alone in that Rei."

"I understand, thank you."

Mari focused her eyes on the tower and thought about what might lay inside for them all. The sight of the thing chilled her to the bone, she had seen a lot of strange things within this world since the Third Impact but they felt minimal compared to this.

The premise of their mission was simple. Their combined forces would make an attempt to break through the A.T. Field surrounding the tower. With two Eva's and the Wunder that wouldn't be a difficult task. From there they would attempt to clear a path to the tower, taking out as many of the Nemesis Series as they could. Once they had reached the tower a task force would enter, they would then find and capture Gendo Ikari.

There was of course a plan B, if they were somehow unable to enter the tower or make a path to the tower they would focus on destroying it instead. Ideally they would want it left standing, it was felt by Misato, Ritsuko and a few others that there maybe things within that could aid them in restoring their world.

Mari understood the reasoning but a part of her didn't care which way the plan went as long as Gendo Ikari ended up paying for what he had done. If he was crushed beneath tons of rubble then so be it.

_'That bastard has ruined so many of our lives, ruined our world and for what? What reason could he have for this?'_

"So Blue..." Mari started, "How do you feel about facing him?"

"I feel... conflicted and afraid. In my first form he was one of the few people who showed me any kindness. Others who knew what I was treated me as such and those who didn't know me ignored me. It was not until Ritsuko first arrived that someone else shown me any kindness and then Shinji would be the next."

"Gendo was actually nice?"

Rei gave a nod, "Yes."

"But that changed?"

"Yes. I always knew there was a purpose he wanted me to fulfil but I was not sure what it was. I believe that it was fulfilled when the Near Third Impact occurred and that body and soul was trapped within Unit 01."

"Rei..." Mari muttered.

"What was left of my soul was transferred into another Unit but they were little more than tools to be used and discarded. If one was hurt or killed I could be transferred into another. My purpose was little more than to pilot, I would sit and wait for orders and carry them out as needed. I did not fear anything. I did not desire anything. I did not have anything."

"I'm... so sorry."

Rei shook her head, "It does not matter now. I am at peace with that part of my past and wish only to look towards the future. I am scared now, I have desires now and I have things to cherish and love now. I am happy now."

"Still... the fact that he used you like that and so many others, my mother, Shinji, you and many more... why? Why did he do it?"

"I am afraid I do not know."

"Well... let's make sure we find out." Mari smiled, "Looks like we're about to deploy, would you like to pick the track?"

Rei nodded and smiled back at Mari as she felt the familiar rumblings of the mechanical systems in the hangar slowly move their Eva's into position to deploy. She scanned the library of music and picked a track, soon the sound of fast paced violins filled the cockpit as they both readied themselves to deploy.

 _‘Conquistador your stallion stands in need of company_  
And like some angel's haloed brow  
You reek of purity’

**[48 Hours Earlier]**

Asuka opened the door and stepped out onto the walk way, she peered over the railing with her hands gripping them tightly. She focused on the scene below, watched as people moved back and forth, cadets entered and exited the simulation pods and the low hum of machinery.

She was up high enough that no one would be able to see her from here unless they were actively looking for her. The walkway itself was hardly used so she wouldn't be bothered. It was a place she could be all alone which was something she needed right now. She sat herself down clutching her knees up to her chest and just watched.

It was something that Asuka had done quite frequently over the course of the Wunders operation. Being up here always had a strange calming effect on her. She never really knew why or how and never thought to find out. All she cared about is that it worked and allowed her to be completely alone.

She shut her eyes and took a few deep breaths as she went back over everything she had just learned and tried to get her thoughts in order. She still felt sick and her hands were shaking as she struggled with it all. She hated herself for feeling like this, for showing that weakness in front of the others so easily. It wasn't as if she hadn't been expecting Ritsuko so say those things.

_'I was expecting it, everything that had happened to me so far... learning about what had happened to Shinji's mother I was expecting her to say it and yet when she confirmed it I had no choice but to turn and run...'_

With these new truths Asuka found herself with many more questions and new feelings. It might have been easier if she had found out that her mother had actually just died all those years ago. Now she wondered how to proceed from here, if her mother's soul was within Evangelion Unit 02 then who was that person lying in that hospital bed.

_'No... That was her, it had to be her. Something went wrong in the experiment didn't it? It wasn't like Shinji's where she got pulled in fully mine... That's what they said didn't they? That something interrupted the experiment and if it hadn't would she have been taken in fully?'_

Asuka fought back tears as she thought of those months she spent watching that shell of her mother through the window. She had tried desperately to get through to her and yet had gotten nowhere. All she could do was watch as what was left of mother had practically rotted away. She had watched as she had spoken only to a doll believing that to be her child. She could remember the time she snuck in there.

Asuka's hand instinctively reached up to her throat as she recalled sneaking into the room that one day. She had tried speaking to her mother, asking why she no longer loved her, asking why she no longer wanted her. Her mother had turned to look at her and leapt forward to attack her.

It was a week later that Asuka found her mother's dead body. The same day that Asuka had been made an Evangelion pilot.

_'But Mama... that wasn't really you was it, you do still love me right? That's why you protected me in the Eva?'_

Asuka's mind turned towards Unit 02 now. Her mother's soul was within that thing but what did that mean? Would Asuka be able to communicate with her? Maybe even get her back?

"Well seems I was correct, you are up here!"

Asuka's head snapped with irritation towards the source of the voice. She saw Mari grinning down at her.

"What the hell are you doing here four eyes?"

Mari shrugged, "Would you believe me if I said that I was out for a walk and it was just a coincidence that I found you up here?"

"What do you think?"

"And that's why you're considered the smart one!" Mari quipped.

"Get to the point Mari!"

"Ooh I get mentioned by name, this must be serious!" Mari said, "Truth is Katsuragi asked me to come and check on you."

"Of course she did..." Asuka groaned, "Because when I say I want to be alone people can't just accept that and leave me alone can they?"

Mari smiled and gave a shrug before sitting herself down next to Asuka, "Probably because we know that deep down you don't want to be alone Princess."

Asuka let out a sigh as Mari continued, "Katsuragi couldn't really come after you though could you? I mean you're still really pissed off at her. Shinji... Well I guess he could have done but he still doesn't know the ship and wouldn't know where to find you. Besides you'd probably just tell him to go away and find out more about his past or whatever. Sakura? Rei? One of the Bridge Crew? Like they'd be able to do something. So of course the task falls to your bestest bestest bestest friend in the whole wide world, the one with whom you have shared so much... love, laughter, fighting, s-"

"Yes Mari I get it! Asuka cut her off sharply, "So you're here to come and cheer me up, you're doing a lousy job of it so far! How did you even know where to find me anyway?"

Mari let out a laugh, "Oh that was easy, this is your place right? I mean this is known as Shikinami's Walkway."

"Sh-Shikinami's Walkway? What the hell are you talking about?"

She continued to chuckle, "A worker spotted you up here once some time ago, saw that you were angry and I guess warned someone not to go up there and bothered you. People just kinda figured it was just your place to come and let off some steam. Did you not ever find it strange that no one uses this walkway for... well anything?"

Asuka shrugged, "I just figured it was rarely used I mean it..."

Asuka looked towards the opposite end of the walkway, "Wait... that's strange it doesn't..."

"Lead anywhere?" Mari finished that sentence for her, "Yup... It doesn't go back into the ship and it doesn't have anything up here of use. It was just put up temporarily to aid in the construction of this room and was going to be pulled down. People... well they knew you came up here and the figured out why and the left it up just for you. People respect you Princess, so much so you have your own private space on the Wunder."

"They do huh?" Asuka looked up and forced a smile.

"Yup... Me included." Mari confirmed, "So what's bugging you? It's the whole mother in the Eva thing right?"

"Tactful as always..." Asuka rolled her eyes, she couldn't even bring herself to be angry at Mari knowing about it. Instead she just let out a half hearted laugh, "So Katsuragi told you?"

Mari's expression turned more serious as she reached out and took hold of one of Asuka's hands, "Yeah... She told me, I don't really know what to say Asuka."

"That's never stopped you before..."

"True." Mari smiled again before letting out a sigh of her own, "It's not... easy is it? Finding out the truth I mean... I mean like... you feel like you want to know it and then all of a sudden you have it. You think that it's going to bring you some closure but instead it's nothing like that... It's like..."

"… You don't really know how to deal with it? I don't know whether to laugh or cry, I don't know whether I should be angry or if I should celebrate. I just feel..."

"Numb." Mari concluded the sentence, "You know... I found out the truth about my mother whilst you and Shinji were away."

Asuka looked across at her and raised an eyebrow, "Oh... really?"

"Yeah... The whole damn thing." Mari said as she tilted her head back against the railing, "Naoko Akagi... With a contact experiment... In NERV's United Kingdom branch."

"A contact experiment huh?"

Mari nodded, "Yup, my mother is probably in my Eva as well. I wonder how many people knew. I wonder if Kaji or the people at the IPEA knew about it. Probably did, we were all using each other to get what we wanted after all. You know it's weird but I've known for a few weeks but I still don't know what to think. I always wanted the truth but why? For closure or so I could plan some sort of revenge? I mean... I can't do anything with the truth, I can't have my mother back and the person who killed her is dead too."

She shrugged, "I mean... Gendo Ikari is still alive but... what can I do there? Do I go for revenge and would I even feel better if I did get it against him? I don't... I'm not a murderer Asuka, I don't think I could do that to someone, even a man like him."

"I know... I'm not exactly fond of hurting other people either. Angels and the Nemesis Series are fine but people... I mean, you remember what happened whe-"

Mari flashed her a look and squeezed her hand, "We did what we had to do Asuka and yes I do remember. I remember throwing up immediately afterwards and I remember you staying up with me all night. I remember you playing games with me and making sure I had what I needed."

"So you couldn't?"

"Despite what he did... what he is responsible for and everyone he had hurt no I couldn't. He's still human and I don't want to be responsible for that again. I don't think it's what Shinji would want either."

Asuka nodded her head knowing exactly what Shinji would think if such a thing would happen. She knew that for all he said he no longer felt anything for that man and didn’t consider him a father anymore, Shinji would not want that to happen. Wishing death on someone, it just wasn’t who Shinji was.

“Shinji wouldn’t want that, he… hates his father but.”

Mari grabbed hold of Asuka’s hand again and their fingers intertwined with one another’s. She squeezed the hand as she looked at Asuka, “We will make him pay for what he has done though. I’ll make sure of that.”

Asuka snorted, “There’s a queue four-eyes…”

“Hah, first come, first served Princess!”

“Like you’d be able to get there before me. Remember you’re the one who is always late to everything!”

“I just prefer to think of it as being a bit looser with timing than you!” Mari chuckled before turning serious, “Can I ask something… Before you knew about your mother did you ever… well in Unit 02 did you feel anything?”

“I felt something…” Asuka admitted, “It was a warmth, it felt like I was just a kid again and… I saw something. A field of sunflowers…”

Mari nodded, “Like the ones you used to like back in Germany?”

“Yeah… So you remember me telling you about that huh?”

Mari gave her a smile, “I remember everything that you told me Asuka, it’s important that I remember it. The things you, Shinji, Rei… even Katsuragi or Akagi. I try to remember it all.”

“You know for someone who acts so absent minded all the time you really aren’t like that are you?”

“You know me Princess, I’m just like the rest of you. Putting up a front to hide the reality.”

The two of them sat for a few moments in a comfortable silence. Their hands held in one another’s and their heads resting on each other. They watched the people working below and just enjoyed each other’s company.

“You know Mari I…” Asuka broke the silence and slowly trailed off as she turned to see Mari grinning, “Actually do you know what? It doesn’t matter.”

“No, go on… What were you doing to say?” Mari said teasingly.

Asuka let out a sigh, “I never… I never said thank you properly did I? You know for all those times you were there for me over the years. I never properly thanked you.”

“Well I mean you did thank me in… certain other ways of which I was very appreciative!” Mari winked.

“Mari!” Asuka growled, “Is not really the time?”

Mari shrugged, “For me it’s always the time! It’s just part of who I am.”

“So who you are is just a massive pervert?”

“Meh, pretty much. As if you’re any better, you just hide it well.” Mari laughed as Asuka felt herself blush, “You don’t need to thank me though Asuka and besides… You brought Rei here and saved her life. That… Well that’s more than made up for any imaginary debt you think you might have.”

Mari stood up and stretched before stepping to the opposite side of the walkway and peering over the railing.

“You really love her don’t you?”

Mari nodded, “Yeah I do Asuka. She makes me really happy and… I just hope I make her half as happy as she makes me.”

“I’m sure you do Mari.” Asuka smiled back at her, “So… What do we do now?”

“I really don’t know… If your mother is in the Eva then I suppose that’s the same for the rest of us right?”

“Shinji seems to think so…”

“Well I suppose we just have to find out more, at least… I want to. I want to know why they were put in there, if we can get them back or even if we can communicate with them.” Mari paused, “Aside from that I don’t really know but… whatever it is we do we’ll all do it together. Okay?”

XXX

Shinji felt those familiar pangs of guilt within him as he sat himself back down in the seat and watched Ritsuko pass by him to leave the room. Only fifteen or so minutes had passed since Asuka’s departure but for Shinji it had felt like an eternity. All he could do as he sat there was wish he was beside Asuka right now. He wanted to be talking to her and helping her with whatever it was she was going through.

Misato had insisted that he stayed though, in his place she had contacted and instructed Mari to go and find Asuka. Not long after Mari had been contacted they had received another communication. This time it was from the bridge to inform them that a VTOL would soon be arriving containing Director Pirani.

Shinji had forgotten about the meeting with the Director. In all the emotion that had been thrown around already he had completely forgotten why he was in the dress uniform. He wondered why Pirani had made the request for him and Asuka to be there. He of course cared what Pirani had to say and he also wanted to thank her for being the one to show him the footage of what had happened in the Third Impact. At the same time what he really cared about was knowing whether or not Asuka was alright.

He looked across at Misato. She looked to be just as troubled as he was, “I should have gone after Asuka… I know she said she didn’t want anyone near her and for me to stay but I know her Misato. Whenever she says she wants to be alone sh-“

Misato shook her head and shoot him a smile, “I know Shinji but that’s why I asked Mari to go and get her instead. Don’t worry, Mari will bring her back.”

He let out a sigh, “Thank you.”

“Shinji… I’m sorry for failing you.”

Shinji looked up in surprise, “Misato you-“

“Wait… I’m not done.” She shook her head, “I keep on going back to all those years ago when I first met you. I took you into NERV and… I didn’t just ask you to pilot Unit 01 I made you do it. I could see how afraid and nervous you were, I could see just how insane the whole damn thing was but I still made you do it!”

Shinji looked at her. This was the first time he had ever heard her express any regret at her actions on that day. At the time he didn’t know what to think of any of them. He could still remember that day so clearly but it wasn’t as if he had a choice. If he hadn’t have piloted then who would have done? His father was going to put Rei back in the Eva and she was in no condition to fight.

“No… Misato, it wasn’t… My father…”

“No he didn’t Shinji… At least he didn’t do it alone.” She answered, “In those first few days I was just as guilty as he was of using you. I was terrified of the Angels but I also hated them so much. I wanted to see them die for all they had done, for what I had gone through and I was willing to use any means necessary, even if that meant using a scared boy.”

Shinji glanced down at the ground as he listened to her speak.

“When you beat that Angel I… decided to take you into my home. I wasn’t quite sure why I did that at first. I felt sorry for you I suppose, here you were in a new city with no friends or family to speak of aside from a father who you clearly didn’t get along with. You were thrust into this situation and you were expected to live by yourself? I suppose… as your commanding officer I felt a sort of duty towards you as well.”

As Misato spoke who also rose from her seat to stand by the window, “I felt awful about what I did by making you get into the Eva. By all rights I should have saw what it had done to you and told you to run. Only I didn’t, instead I took you in and helped you. It was my way of making myself feel better for what I was doing. Only… I didn’t know who I was supposed to be to you. Was I supposed to be a mother figure? Your commanding Officer? A big sister? In those days I barely had my own life figured out.”

Shinji shook his head and made his way over to her, “Misato you… were my guardian. I know it wasn’t great at first. I was… hurt and upset and I thought you were just using me for Eva. As time went on though I knew that… you did care for me.”

“I’m… glad you know what Shinji.” Misato muttered, her voice cracking slightly with emotion, “I know I’ve made mistakes Shinji, some of them I don’t think I could or should be forgiven for. I made you… I made Asuka and Rei do foolish things in those days to defeat the Angels. We won but that doesn’t justify it. I was so driven by my hatred of them that I never stopped to think…”

“You were there at the Second Impact weren’t you?” Shinji suddenly asked her.

“Yeah.” She confirmed, “I was there. My father took me as a special ‘bonding’ trip.”

As she said the words there was a hint of anger in her voice followed by her shaking her head sorrowfully, “I hated my father back then. I hated the way he treated my mother, he was never there for her or us. He was always busy working and chasing whatever dream he had.”

“So that’s what you meant when you said you never got along with your father either.”

“Yeah… I didn’t really help matters back then. I was a bit of a bratty teenager and I never took the time to understand him. I would just yell and complain and never hear him out.”

“If he wasn’t there though…”

Misato shrugged, “Maybe I was right to be angry at him but the problem is I’ll never know now. That trip the Antarctic he… it was supposed to be the culmination of all he had worked towards. He wanted me, his only daughter to be there to witness him changing the world. He told me that after this trip that’d be it, we could be a family again. He was desperate to mend the bridge between us but I didn’t believe him, I was stubborn and a fool…”

Shinji smiled, “Had to imagine…”

Misato chuckled, “The last time I saw my father was on the night of the Second Impact. I awoke to sounds of… I can’t even begin to describe them. It was inhuman, like the gates of hell were being opened all around me. He had come to find me, he carried me to an Entry Plug and he said… he said, ‘I’m so sorry that things ended up the way they did Misato. I never wanted to hurt you or your mother. Please forgive me and know that I’ll always love you.’ He gave me that same cross that I passed to you and… that was that.”

“I’m sorry…” Shinji finally said solemnly as he continued to listen to Misato speak.

“I don’t know whether or not I was right to hate him but I’ll never find out. Maybe he was telling the truth, after he had done what it was he had to do he would return to us. The Angels took away that chance though and I was… angry.” Misato paused and turned to face Shinji, “I blamed myself most of all though. If he hadn’t been so desperate to impress me and prove himself a worthy father he’d still be alive. I hated that feeling.”

“Misato…”

“So I swore revenge and I used any means necessary. You… Asuka… Rei. I’ve been getting revenge ever since the Second Impact and I have to break that cycle Shinji. It’s cost me far too much and if I don’t…”

Shinji stepped forward putting his arms around Misato, he was unsure of what to say to her after she had told him her story. Yet he felt he had to do something, “M-Misato… Should I hate my father then for what he has done? Should I try to understand him?”

“I don’t know Shinji… Only you can answer that. Do you feel like you hate him?”

Shinji nodded as she held him close to her, “Yes, he’s hurt far too many people. He abandoned me, he hurt and used Rei and he caused all of this to happen. Nothing can be worth all of this but I do want to know why he did it.”

Misato tightened the hug, “I know Shinji, and I promise we’ll get you those answers.”

XXX

It was something of a rare thing for Kaworu Nagisa to feel anger but as he stood facing the smirking form of Gendo Ikari he was feeling that exact thing. He had not expected to see the NERV Commander in any form before him. Yet that was always the case with Gendo Ikari, a man who had managed to snake his way through life. A man who had managed to remain a step ahead of people and shatter expectations.

It was not just anger that Kaworu felt right now, it was also fear. Gendo Ikari appearing here had not been a part of Kaworu's plan. Gendo Ikari was supposed to be out there, beyond the tower like the rest of them. There was only supposed to have been one who was going to cross the threshold. Yet here Gendo was, it was just like before, somehow Gendo had managed to out maneuver him.

"I must admit, I am surprised to see you standing there. King of the Lilin."

Gendo remained still, standing with one hand in his pocket and continuing to smirk. Kaworu could feel his cold eyes on him even from behind the visor. Kaworu was starting to come to a realization, Gendo Ikari was no longer a man. He was something else now. Perhaps the closest thing Kaworu could think of was a biblical demon that had taken human form. The man known as Gendo Ikari had shed the skin of humanity a long time ago.

_'This... Is unlike any other time I have seen. This is unlike any others... but why? Is it because of me? Is it because I have been more active than the others that have been? Did I do this?'_

"The contract with Lilith has been fulfilled." Gendo finally spoke, slowly and deliberately, "No more of Adam's spawn remain on this Earth. Lilith has been laid to rest and the tower has been revealed. I have come to claim what is mine."

_'But how... How is he here? He should not have been able to cross the threshold, it was reserved for one and one alone. He should have been destroyed... unless...'_

Kaworu looked up in shock, "You... You have it don't you?"

Gendo nodded, "Nebuchadnezzar's Key, the lost tool of your civilization. That which should not exist has aided me to reach that which should not be reached. With it I control the Nemesis Series and the ability to use this tower. I need only wait for the catalyst to arrive."

 _'Catalyst? No... He is referring to Shinji?'_ Kaworu felt rage surge through him as Gendo spoke those words,  _'I will not allow him to be harmed! That was not the reason he was to come here!'_

"You are not the only one who has peered into that voice Nagsia." Gendo stated, "I have seen it too, a long time ago. Worlds just like our own, each one at different point of a cycle. Some at the beginning and some at the end. Cycles of death and rebirth over and over again. Nothing but pain and anguish brought on by the actions of a race so arrogant they thought they could be Gods."

"You are wrong!" Kaworu replied, "That is not... That is not what was supposed to happen. They were running, they were desperate and... They had hope. I am trying to correct their mistake and... Retain that hope. You wish to destroy it."

"There is no hope left in this world. All that will happen if it continues is humanity will put an end to itself. I have seen it over and over again as have you. What I wish to do is put an end to it all completely. I will be born again with her by my side and we will..."

Kaworu cut him off, "Your wishes are irrelevant, it will not be your decision to make. You might have Nebuchadnezzar's Key but you still do not have the power to make that choice. It will be he who makes the choice."

"Indeed it will." Gendo replied with an unsettling air of confidence, "Indeed it will..."

XXX

"Asuka!" Shinji couldn't help but exclaim loudly when he saw her enter the meeting room. Without any regard to the tense atmosphere and seriousness of the situation he leapt to his feet and ran towards her, wrapping her in a tight hug.

"Urk..." Asuka staggered backwards as Shinji wrapped his arms around her. She peered over his shoulder looking at the somewhat amused faces of the others in the room. She felt her cheeks start to glow a deep red with embarrassment as she shot them a slight smile.

"Idiot!" She whispered, "Couldn't you have... waited until later?"

"S-Sorry... I was worried about you." He smiled back at her, he himself now blushing as he realized what he had just done, "I um... got a bit carried away didn't I?"

"A bit?" She nodded sharply, "Not that I don't appreciate it though."

She leaned forward and kissed him briefly on the lips before turning and walking towards her designated seat in the room. She could feel the stares of the others on her, as she looked up she saw Misato grinning at the two of them.

"Do you feel better now Asuka?" Misato asked.

Asuka glared at her but nodded, "Much. I haven't delayed anything have I?"

Misato shook her head, "Nothing, the Director has only just arrived."

Pirani rose up from her seat and extended a hand to Asuka who promptly shook it, "Pilot Shikinami, it is an honour to meet you again."

"Director." Asuka bowed her head in greeting.

Asuka took her seat and Shinji sat himself down next to her. She still wasn't feeling completely at her best but she was able to be here. There would still be a lot for her to go over in her mind, a lot of questions to ask but she also had a duty.

She glanced around to see the other occupants of the room. Also present was Maya, Ritsuko and Aoba. It seemed that this was it for the meeting as Pirani started to speak.

"I apologize for my sudden appearance on board this vessel. I understand that things aren't exactly easy for you all and I were able to you would all be given a well-earned break. Unfortunately... I am unable to grant that." She looked around the room at each of the occupants and finally coming to stop at Shinji.

Pirani had nothing but sympathy for the boy, after all he had been through already what she was about to say might only serve to hurt him more. She had heard a lot about him, about his past and what he had been up to since he had returned. She had looked into his files and that of his father’s she knew that anything relating to his father was not going to be easy for him to take. Yet it was something that he had to hear, she had to be honest and truthful with him.

“I will keep this as brief as I can. As you are likely already aware WILLE and many human cities around the world were the victim of a simultaneous attack from the Nemesis Series the other day. I know you yourselves were victims of said attack. Unfortunately this attack revealed to us that Gendo Ikari had somehow been successful in infiltrating WILLE.”

Pirani shot a look at Misato, “Of course your captain was already aware of such a thing and did warn us in advance. Unfortunately the other directors did not take heed of these warnings. Whilst we know it was Director Barclay who was responsible for this happening the other Directors of WILLE are busy blaming one another and the situation is somewhat chaotic right now.”

Ritsuko sighed, “That’ll have been what he was expecting.”

“Indeed, with WILLEs attention elsewhere and the in-fighting it allows him some freedom to plan his next move. Unfortunately it seems that next move might have already been taken.”

Shinji looked up with anger in his eyes, “Where is he?”

“The Tower Of Babel. Hours ago we received reports of what we know to be his craft passing through the A.T. Field and approaching the tower. We were able to track him until he disappeared into the structure himself.”

“Impossible!” Misato exclaimed, “The tower is surrounded by the Nemesis Series, why didn’t they tear him apart!”

Pirani shook her head, “I don’t know, no one knows the truth behind them but it seems he has found a way around them. I have spoken to the other directors. They are unwilling to commit anything to the tower. I do not share their view, if he is in there I want him stopped.”

Misato nodded, “We will go immediately.”

“Good.” Pirani smiled, “You will not be alone, although they too were hit by the attacks, Espèrer will be lending a craft to aid us. The AAA Thunderchild will be accompanying you. We have forty eight hours to plan an attack on the tower and retrieve Gendo Ikari. The fate of our world depends on it.”


	31. The Tower Suite - 3rd: Divided We Fall

**[24 hours earlier]**

Shinji found himself alone in Misato’s office once again. She had already spoken to the others and now it was his turn to speak with her. He had already made up his mind, it had already been made up yesterday when Pirani had told them all that his father was at the tower.

Misato was already standing in front of her desk when he entered. He knew what she was going to say, the same thing she had said to Asuka, Rei and Mari. That they did not need to do this and that they could leave and go to safety if they desired it. Others on the ship had been given this choice too. Shinji didn’t know how many, if anyone had taken her up on it.

He looked Misato in the eye and before she even got a chance to speak he stated plainly, “I’ll do it. I’ll pilot Unit 02 along with Asuka.”

Misato just looked back at him, he mouth slightly open in shock at his sudden declaration. She simply shook her head, “Shinji… Are you sure? You don’t need to do this, I… I wasn’t even going to ask you at first but…”

“Yes.” He said firmly, “I’m sure Misato. I know it hurts and I know the risk. It hurt the very first time I piloted and it has hurt each and every time since but I have to help. I… Can’t stand by and do nothing, I’ve done that before and…”

“Shinji… I’m so sorry that any of this ever happened. You should never have been made to pilot that thing in the first place. I… I always knew you never wanted to! When Rei was capable again or when Asuka arrived then I should have…”

Misato let out a sigh, “It doesn’t matter now does it? I can’t exactly turn back the clock. When I used to want you to pilot you didn’t want to and now I don’t want you to you want to. It’s a bitter irony.”

Shinji chuckled, “I… I don’t want to pilot it Misato. I’m scared of piloting it, I’m scared of being hurt. I’m scared of what might happen to me or Asuka. I’m scared of what I’m capable of in there. I know what those things can do now but I just feel like I have to do this.”

He looked down at the ground, “I don’t know what my father is doing but… I can’t let him get away with it. I want to be a part of stopping him. So please… let me pilot.”

“I will Shinji.” Misato stepped forward and put her arms around him, “I’ll have them prepare your data for the Entry Plug and have a fresh plugsuit for you. The briefing on the mission will commence in a couple of hours after I’ve spoken to a few more people… And Shinji…”

“Yes?”

“If you change your mind… please let me know.”

**[Present Day]**

All Asuka could do was grit her teeth and feel the pain shoot through her body as Unit 02 was caught by a blast whilst in midair. She tried to bring the Eva down gracefully but all that happened was it came thundering down onto its side. She heard Shinji yell out as the impact rocked the cockpit.

So far the Nemesis Series had been both unrelenting and unending. As she looked around she could see Unit 08 off in the distance fighting with a group of the tripod machines and simultaneously having to fend off a swarm of the disc-based entities. There was a bright flash and the familiar cross shaped explosions as it swung its large double-ended blade around and sliced through one of the tripods whilst also catching a number of the discs.

Between the two Eva's high up in the air was the AAA Wunder. It was currently contending with numerous swarms attacking it in waves. They were fast and deadly, their attacks bouncing off of the mighty vessels A.T. Field. There was the loud firing of its cannons as it took aim at the swarms trying to diminish their numbers.

Every now and then it'd send out small blasts of energy to the ground in an attempt to thin the tripod population. Also dealing with this was the smaller craft that Espèrer had donated to the cause, the AAA Thunderchild. It was about half the size of the Wunder but seemed to be able to match it in terms fo strength.

Half of the Wunders TARKUS Units had also been deployed into the battle. Twelve Units in total, each split up into groups of three. Two groups were supposed to be covering Unit 02 and two groups covering Unit 08 as they all battled their way to the entrance of the tower.

"Asuka!" Shinji suddenly called out, "I'm picking up three of them coming from behind us."

Asuka let out a growl of anger and slowly got Unit 02 back up onto its feet. She had the Eva grip its own blade tightly and swung it around her clipping through the legs of one of the tripods. She watched as the machine staggered over, it's main body falling to the ground. Asuka raised the blade and stabbed it through the body of the machine ending it.

She brought the blade around taking aim at another of the figures and sliced the body of it clean in half. From here she could see the entrance to the tower. It was only a few hundred metres but right now that may as well have been a world away. There was no discernable way of reaching it through the swarms of machines defending it. It seemed that no matter how many they took out more would take their place almost immediately.

 _'Nothing is ever easy is it?...'_ She thought to herself as she continued to fight.

As Shinji watched a third of the machines fall he looked back down at the array of screens around him to look for any other threats. Almost immediately he spotted a swarm bearing down on Unit 02 and he sprang into action. He brought up the defensive cannon targeting screen and aimed the cannon towards the centre of the swarm and watched as a number of them were engulfed in the blast and reduced to nothing. Those that remained flew off to join one of the remaining swarms.

Shinji took no time to think about this minor victory, instead he continued to scan his screens for signs of other enemies approaching. If they were on the ground he would relay it to Asuka, if they were up in the air he'd do his best to handle it. Either way he knew that more would come, that had been all that he had experienced for the last half hour or so.

He glanced at the recharge meter for the cannon and then back at the screens. Just as he had suspected more were approaching. The TARKUS Units were doing a good job of stopping some of the numbers get through but they could not stop everything.

He took time to glance up towards the tower. He wondered how his father had been able to get there so easily. It had taken the combine forces of Unit 02, Unit 08 and the Wunder just to punch through the A.T. Field and then they had to contend with all of this.

His body jerked forward as he felt Asuka jump Unit 02 up into the air again. Asuka let out another growl as Unit 02 dived forward and sliced clean through another of the figures. She swung around and cut through a second and a third in quick succession. Almost immediately two more began their approach and he heard her let out a road of anger and frustration.

There was a bright flash of light as both of them fired simultaneously at Unit 02. Asuka managed to dodge the two of them somehow by jumping into the air again but was caught off guard as a third machine entered the area and aimed a blast at the Evangelions shoulder. Both Shinji and Asuka felt an intense burning pain in their shoulder as the hit connected and Unit 02 was sent crashing to the ground for a second time.

Shinji looked down at his screen again to see more were approaching from the front, "A-Asuka... there are more of them."

"Yes! I'm well aware of that fact Shinji!" Asuka bit back as Unit 02 got back onto its feet.

As she started to move Unit 02 forward Shinji saw two swarms approaching. He looked to the cannon controls only to see that it still hadn't finished recharging. He looked up again just as Asuka started to bring the blade around.

"A-Asuka! The cannon, I can't fire it! It's still recharging."

"Scheisse!" Asuka muttered under her breath. She had seen the swarms approaching and was hoping that at least one of them could have been taken out as she made her move. She finished driving the blade into the tripod she had targeted and tried to scramble Unit 02 away.

It was too late, the swarms had descended and were now raining fire across the back of Unit 02. Both Shinji and Asuka yelled out as the pain was mirrored onto their bodies. Asuka had no choice but to release her controls. The brief loss of control sent the Eva staggering around. Dust and rubble was kicked up around them as the machine went down for a third time, crashing through a nearby building.

Exhausted and in pain Asuka glared up through the cockpit. Sweat was dripping down her face as she muttered to herself and Unit 02, "T-There's too many of them... Mama... If you're really in here then please... I need your help."

She leaned back in the seat and gripped her controls, her hands trembling and barely able to grab them properly.

"Shinji... Are the cannons recharged?"

Shinji was still recovering from the recent fall. He fought off a wave of dizziness and tried to focus on the status of the weapon. After a moment he nodded in confirmation, "Y-Yeah... It's charged."

"Good." Asuka sighed, "We go again."

"Y-Yeah." Shinji responded as Asuka slowly started to bring Unit 02 back onto its feet. The machine staggered around a bit as she struggled to focus and control it properly but she was finally able to get it upright again. As she picked up the blade she saw another of the machines approaching.

"BASTARD!" She cried out as she brought the blade down. It sliced the figure in half and she watched as another approached. She swung the blade around to fight it but a sudden blast from another machine knocked the blade from the Eva's hands.

Shinji immediately sent a blast towards the machine but it was too late. Two more figures had approached from the front and had already hit Unit 02 twice in the chest. Both of them felt a terrible burning in their chest as control of the Eva was lost again.

Shinji snatched at his own controls as he desperately tried to regain the machines balance. It was much too late. A third and fourth blast was sent towards them. One missing but the other connecting with Unit 02s right shoulder.

Shinji cried out as the machine fall to the ground for a fourth time. Neither of them were able to move, there was too much pain. All they could do was watch as a number of figures now loomed over them.

"No... This isn't..." Asuka snarled as her eyes widened and she felt rage building up inside of her. The gripped at the Unit's controls and tried to get it to do something, anything. She was trying to tap into that power she had used last week, trying to pull something more from the Eva but it just wasn't working.

_'Why... Why can't I do it! If I could now I can control it, I know what it is! Why aren't you doing anything!'_

A large shadow had now been cast over the cockpit of Unit 02 as the two of them tried desperately to move it. Asuka could taste blood in her mouth as she found herself in too much pain to even wrap her hands around the controls.

_'I-I can't... do this... we... can't... but we have to. I can't... I won't let them down...'_

There were at least six figures surrounding the fallen form of Unit 02 now, each one had their weapons aimed at her. It was like a swarm of vultures about to pick apart their prey. She looked at them slowly approaching as if they were celebrating a victory against the one who had destroyed so many of them.

"Bastards..." She muttered as her hands finally gripped the controls. She wasn't going to go down like this, if she was going to go down she was going to go down fighting.

Asuka glanced behind her, "Shinji... Shinji can you hear me?"

Shinji nodded weakly, "Y-Yeah..."

"I'm... I'm going to get you to that tower Shinji. We aren't dying!"

Shinji smiled weakly at her, "I know."

She turned and was about to try to move Unit 02 again but before she could even do anything there were several bright flashes of light. Asuka looked around in shock to see all six of the tripod figures suddenly explode before her very eyes. She blinked and looked across to see the imposing form of the AAA Thunderchild hovering near to them.

_"Captain Shikinami! Pilot Ikari, are you both alright?"_

Asuka didn't recognize the person who was speaking, she had not yet had the opportunity to meet the captain of the vessel but she made a note to thank them later.

"Alive but hurt, thank you."

_"Good to hear, we've been given new orders. We are going to commence a bombing run from this location to the entrance of the tower to try to clear a path. The Wunder will do the same, in between ourselves and the Wunder you are to extend your A.T. Field to maximum and try to make your way through. Do you think you're able to do that?"_

"Heh, of course we are." Asuka smiled through the pain, "Just give the word."

XXX

Mari wore a serious expression as she focused on the fight. They had been going for nearly an hour and it had been a constant stream of action. Whilst her opponents hadn’t been especially strong they outnumbered the WILLE and Espèrer forces greatly.

_‘Seems like for every one we destroy another three take their place!’_

Despite the ease at which Mari and Rei could take down their opponents Unit 08 had suffered a number of hits. Both were tired and incredibly sore from the battle. Both had stopped counting just how many of the Nemesis Series had been destroyed.

Mari brought Unit 08 back slicing clean through another of the machines. She started trying to figure out what she could do next. Misato’s new orders had been broadcast to them all. The Thunderchild and the Wunder would commence a bombing run in an attempt to clear a path for Unit 02 to the tower.

“Looks like the Puppy and the Princess get to have all the fun right Blue?” Mari exclaimed as she dodged past another of the tripod figures and stabbed her blade into it.

She rolled Unit 08 to the right and watched as the cannons from her shoulder compartment fired forward swiftly taking down one of the swarms. To this she turned around and shot Rei a wide grin, “Nice shooting Rei!”

Mari’s grin very quickly faded on seeing Rei’s condition. It was not good, the girl appeared to be concentrating hard on what she was doing but she was struggling. She was hunched over and breathing heavily. Mari could see Rei was grimacing in pain and the girl had blood trickling from both of her nostrils.

“R-Rei… What’s happening?” Mari asked.

Rei shook her head, “I… I will be fine. I am… able to function, please focus on the mission… focus…”

Rei suddenly let out an ear piercing scream as a white hot pain shot through her skull. Her hands reached up to her head as she doubled over in her seat.

Mari scrambled out of her seat towards Rei only to have the girl shove her back, “NO! I… the mission, we must… we must…”

Rei screamed out again as the pain shot through her skull once more and then through the rest of her body. She writhed in agony as Mari once again scrambled out of her seat, it was only a voice through her comm system that stopped her,  _“Unit 08, You’re stopped moving, is everything alright down there?”_

“You… Answer it, you can’t… please!” Rei gritted her teeth trying to fight through this sudden pain her body was in.

Mari shot Rei a look of concern before moving back into her seat, “Misato! I-It’s Rei… She… Something has happened to her! She’s…”

It was not Misato who replied but a clearly shaken Ritsuko,  _“Rei! What is wrong? What has happened to her?”_

Mari’s hands were shaking as she gripped her controls, she was able to get Unit 08 out of the way just before another attack from one of the tripods hit her. She was able to slice through it with the blade whilst replying to Ritsuko, “I-I don’t know! She just started…”

Ritsuko’s voice came back through,  _“What are her symptoms?”_

Mari looked behind her, “Um… She’s bleeding from both nostrils and her head is hurting. She…”

Rei let out another scream of pain as Mari moved forward and took out another of the tripods. She dodged back behind one of the buildings, “Ritsuko, what is wrong with her? I thought… I thought she was fine now?”

Mari looked behind her towards Rei and reached out with a hand. She was able to place her hand on Rei’s shoulder when an intense pain shot through her shoulder. She felt Unit 08 stumble back and she quickly turned to try and stop it from falling. She looked up to see one of the swarms flying overhead. As she tried to move away she heard Ritsuko again,  _“We’re pulling you both back. You are to bring Rei back to the Wunder immediately.”_

“No!” Rei cried out, “I can’t… The mission is… Shinji…”

 _“Mari, bring her back.”_ Misato’s voice was now heard.

“What’s wrong with her?” Mari asked.

_“Ritsuko thinks she might know but you need to bring Rei back immediately, is that understood?”_

“Yeah, I’m bringing her back!” Mari gripped the controls tightly and started to move towards the Wunder. There was still some time before it would commence its bombing run and it was just low enough for them to get into the hanger. All she’d need is one good jump and a bit of help from her A.T. Field.

“Hang on Blue! I’m gonna get you help!”

As Mari spoke she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Rei was looking at her with pleading eyes and tears streaming down her face, “P-Please… Don’t… I need to… I want to help you…”

Rei scream out again as the pain rushed through her, “No NO NO NO NO NO NO! It’s… They’re in my head! He is… They will…”

“REI! I’m going to get you help, just hold on a mome-“

Mari felt the burning pain in her shoulders again as one of the blasts from the tripod caught her off guard and smashed directly into the back of Unit 08. She tried to keep her balance and keep moving forward. She leapt up towards the edge of a building but was caught by another blast. There was only pain for her as the cockpit rocked violently sending her body forward.

She could only watch as Unit 08 was sent crashing into the ground kicking up a large amount of dust and debris. There was a loud smash from the back of the cockpit and Mari looked up in horror to see Rei’s body connect with the back wall and fall unconscious to the floor of the cockpit.

“Rei? REI!”

XXX

The appearance of the Thunderchild over their position had given them a bit of a reprieve from the battle. They had both been given the opportunity to catch their breath before the next wave of attackers were on them.

They were still counting down to the commencement of their plan. The Thunderchild would go first releasing as much as it good in a straight line to the towers entrance. Hopefully this would clear enough of a path to allow Unit 02 to dash forward and make it to the entrance. She looked around the battlefield to prepare herself to run when suddenly Misato's voice was heard over the comm systems.

_"Asuka, Shinji, We're going to have to pull Unit 08 from the battle. It's nothing serious so don't worry about them. We'll be deploying the rest of our TARKUS Units alongside you. Nothing about the plan has changed!"_

Despite Misato's reassurances Asuka couldn't help but feel troubled by the announcement of them pulling Unit 08. The last she had seen of the Eva it was upright and fighting as fiercely as she was. There had been no chatter from Mari either so things must have been going well.

She turned around briefly to look at Shinji. He looked troubled too, most likely concerned about the condition of Rei and Mari. She didn't know quite what to say to him, if she should say anything at all. She had no knowledge of what was happening but she needed him to focus.

"Hey Shinji!" She suddenly said.

His head snapped up, "Y-Yeah?"

"I need you to focus okay?"

"Sorry, I was just worried about... They'll be alright won't they?" He asked.

Asuka nodded, "They'll be fine Shinji but if we don't focus and get through this then the risk to them is greater. We need to push on and fight so that they can return to the Wunder as they have been ordered to. So focus on your screens and keep those bastards off of both me and Unit 08."

She sort him a warm smile, "We're not getting beat Shinji... Neither are they."

"Yeah..."

Asuka felt her hands come around her controls again. Most of her body ached now and as she watched Shinji move and reach for his own controls she could tell he was in a similar amount of pain. They were both bruised and battered, small wounds had opened on them. Asuka had a cut above her right eye, Shinji was bleeding from his lip and she was sure her shoulder had been burnt. It was the cost of the high sync ratio they shared within Unit 02.

_'We're hurt but we're alive... We need to keep going. Come on Asuka, you can do this!'_

Shinji looked at his displays, his mind focused on Mari and Rei. He was certain that something was up. He couldn't imagine either of them agreeing to being recalled like that unless it was serious. The two of them would fight until the end, until every bit of ammunition was depleted, until they completely ran out of energy. He could only think of one reason they'd turn back and that was for each other.

_'Asuka is right though... If I don't focus then I put them at greater risk. I have to keep going.'_

Shinji gritted his teeth and scanned his screens for any stray swarms. He wasn't sure if it was his imagination but things did seem to have slowed down. Maybe it was because of the more concentrated attacks from their forces but it seemed like there were less of the Nemesis Series around. Still he saw a stray swarm flying towards the retreating form of Unit 08 and fired immediately dissolving the creatures into dust.

He then felt Unit 02 begin to move. The shadow of the Thunderchild was moving slowly away from them as the vessel started its journey towards the tower. It accelerated and then Shinji saw all the fire raining down from it. Ahead of Unit 02 were mighty explosions sending dust, rubble and machine up into the air as the Thunderchild moved forward mercilessly.

When it had reached half way towards the tower Asuka started to move Unit 02 forward. It was easy to see where everything had landed, the red earth below now scorched, parts of the Nemesis Series left scattered.

Yet Shinji could see more of the Tripod figures looming in the distance. He could see more of the swarms coming towards them and he knew their time was limited. He watched as the cannons recharged and took aim at another swarm.

It was then that something on his screen caught his eye. It was a marked indicating an enemy was nearby but it was larger than the others.

"Asuka... I'm picking something up."

"I'm kinda trying to move forward here Shinji. Ignore it."

Shinji nodded as Asuka had Unit 02 jerk to the side and slice through another incoming Tripod. The Thunderchild had done a good job of scattered them and leaving enough room for Unit 02 to move forward. More of the Nemesis Series were approaching but with the addition of the twelve TARKUS Units to the battle only a few were trickling through to Unit 02.

Asuka sliced through another machine and then stopped. The earth started to shake around them and she gripped her handled tightly trying to keep Unit 02 on its feet. Suddenly the rumbling of the ground intensified. Unit 02 was knocked backwards and the two of them could only watch as the ground opened up before them.

At the centre of the creator a large snake like creature resembling the ones they had fought back with Espèrer rose and flew up into the air. It let out an ear splitting screech and Asuka looked on in horror as behind it large rows and blood red ribbon like blades also snaked out of the ground.

_'No... Not... Not again, why?'_

XXX

“Unit 08 has managed to get back in the hangar bay, Sakura is with them now.” Kitakami reported from her station.

Misato looked towards Ritsuko, “Go to them, find out what’s wrong with Rei I’ve got things here.”

Ritsuko nodded, “Of course.”

Ritsuko turned and quickly left the bridge as Misato moved towards the railing overlooking the stations below. Her attention was turned to the nightmarish sight that had appeared ahead of them. She had seen these blades sprout up from the ground numerous times and seen the damage they could do. Sharp enough to slice through an Eva with no regard for the bio-mechanical weapons A.T. Field.

Further adding to this was the appearance of the snake like creature. The memories of their encounter with this sort of creature were still fresh. Ritsuko had dealt with them last time, now it was Misato’s chance. She had seen the reports of just how strong they could be and was not going to take any chances.

She smirked as she grabbed the railing confidently, “Deploy NAUTILUS, we’re not going to give them a chance to stop us.”

“Beginning NAUTILUS deployment.” Aoba called over from his console. Almost immediately the lighting on the bridge dropped to a deep red. Misato looked down at her own console asking for confirmation on the deployment. Others around the bridge also did the same.

She keyed in her passcode and there was a rumbling within the ship as the system slowly started to come to life. It would take some time to deploy.

“Nagara, play evasive for now but keep us within range of that creature.”

“Aye Captain.” Nagara called back.

Misato now turned towards Takao and Tama, “The two of you, ensure our A.T. Field is kept at maximum and keep our speed up until the system is online. Prepare yourself for the sudden change, Ritsuko has made a few modifications that should allow you a bit more control this time.”

“Captain!” Kitakami suddenly spoke up, “Something… strange is happening. The other members of the series are… backing off.”

Misato frowned in confusion as she looked towards the screen to confirm Kitakami’s words. It seemed that the number of swarms in the area had indeed retreated and the tripod machines were also backing away.

“What the hell are they doing?” She asked no one in particular, “Do they feel that they only need what they have left or something?”

She made a note to exercise some caution going forward. The nature of these things was still mostly unknown to them, their actions obviously meant something. So for now she merely watched as the ship started to swing around and circle the large snake like creature. Whilst it had not attacked just yet Misato felt that it was only a matter of time.

Kitakami called out again, “Thunderchild has reported their bombing run is complete, they’re turning to engage the new creature.”

Misato nodded, “Tell them to exercise caution, we know just how tough these things can be.”

Kitakami relayed the order as the final stages of the NAUTILUS deployment were put into place. Misato could feel the ship speed up as the deep red on the bridge intensified. She was about to give her next order when suddenly, as if responding to the declaration from the Thunderchild the snake like creature moved.

Its movement were rapid with each of the legs along of its body snapping violently. Misato tried to order the Wunder to move but before she would get a word out each of the segments along the body of the creature lit up. An array of light was sent out both towards the Thunderchild and the Wunder.

“EVASIVE MANEUVERS!” Misato cried out as Nagara’s hands frantically moved over her controls. The Wunder started to turn but it was too late. There was a bright flash as the blasts collided with the Wunders A.T. Field. Misato stumbled forward from the impact before turning to her staff and snarling, “Return fire, show them what we’re capable of.”

XXX

Asuka pushed Unit 02 forward swinging her blade around to deflect one of the ribbon blades moving towards her. It moved quickly, much faster than any of the others she had encountered. She felt a sharp pain in her right arm as another one swung around managing to catch Unit 02 on the shoulder.

Behind her Shinji fired a shot off from the position cannon at the base of a group that had sprung up from the ground. The ground erupted as the force of the blast hit one of the blades and unearthed several more.

Off in the distance he could see the form of the Wunder, something about it seemed different. There was a dark red glow along its base and it seemed faster somehow. He ignored it for the moment and looked forward as Asuka continued moving Unit 02 forward deflecting that which she could. He felt a sharp pain as another of the blades seemed to catch Unit 02s ankle.

The appearance of that large creature had been terrifying. He remember just how hard the one he and Asuka had been to fight but this one was a lot larger and formidable than those. There were loud explosions overhead as the Thunderchild moved into view sending out a barrage of fire. The sky lit up as each shot connected with the creatures A.T. Field.

“Just a little bit further!” Asuka called out, “I’m going to… I’m going to get you there Shinji!”

As she pushed forward again another of the blades leapt up towards Unit 02. Asuka jumped the Eva up into the air trying to leap over it. Shinji cried out in pain as the blade suddenly shot up and pierced its way through the leg of Unit 02. Asuka immediately brought her own weapon down slicing through the attacker.

She shot a look back at Shinji, “Shinji… Are you alright?”

Shinji nodded, “It… hurts but…”

She looked back towards front of her Eva for a moment and seemed to be considering something. A second later she looked back at Shinji, “You’re going to make it Shinji… just hold on okay.”

Shinji looked back in confusion, “What do you mean, you’re going to make it too Asuka.”

“Just… hold on.” She replied as suddenly the cockpit around Shinji went dark. He glanced down and see his own controls power down. A moment later a large dividing screen appeared between himself and Asuka and he realized just what was happening.

“I’m going to get you there Shinji I promise you that but it’s no use if both of us are hurt. You need to get there, you can… you can stop it.”

“Wait ASUKA!” Shinji yelled out as she took the controls and started pushing forward. The Eva’s movements were quicker now and more focused, moving towards the tower at rapid pace. She seemed to be spending less time dodging the blades and instead focusing on getting to the entrance.

“ASUKA!” Shinji cried out again as he hammered his hands against the screen, “ASUKA LET ME HELP! YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO THIS!”

It was no use, she couldn’t hear him no matter how much he yelled. He felt the sting of tears as he watched another of the blades rise up and move towards Unit 02. Asuka’s body seemed to recoil with pain but she kept pushing onwards.

Suddenly Unit 02 leapt high up into the air, he could see the doorway of the tower ahead of them as the Evangelion moved forward. The blade snapped at the Eva trying to chip away at whatever was within reach and then finally the machine came down hard on the ground.

He felt the Entry Plug eject from the Eva and the screen came down. Without thinking for his own safety Shinji moved forward and tried to get to Asuka. She was clearly in a lot of pain and struggling to get out of the seat. She glared at him, “Go… Get inside. We haven’t got much time.”

Shinji shook his head, “A-Asuka, you’re hurt… I can’t.”

She forced a smile, “It’s nothing… I’ve been hurt much worse than this before. Besides… If I go too then who is going to… protect you? I have to protect you right?”

She limped towards the doorway of the plug pressing the button that opened it. Shinji could hear the explosions from outside as he looked at Asuka. There was blood trickling down her cheeks, her plugsuit was torn and with every shambling step she grimaced in pain.

“Go! Get out!” She ordered.

“N-No! I… I can’t Asuka! I don’t know… I need… you…”

She let out a laugh, “You’ll… figure it out Shinji, that’s what you do right? I know how this goes… this is… you have to do this. Your father… you can stop him and I… I’ll protect you.”

“But Asuka I…”

“SHUT UP!” Asuka yelled as she suddenly pressed herself up against him. He backed up against the wall and stared intently into her eyes, “Idiot Shinji I...”

Her lips were pressed up firmly against his a moments later in a deep and passionate kiss. His arms came around hers and held her body close to his own. A moment later she pulled away, her own eyes filled with tears, “I’m going to protect you Shinji. I love you, Goodbye.”

“Wai-“

Asuka shoved him out of the door quickly and he felt himself land on the ground of the tower entrance firmly. Before he even had the opportunity to get back to his feet Asuka had sealed the door of the Entry Plug and it had went back into Unit 02.

“ASUKA!” Shinji yelled out powerlessly as the Evangelion stumbled to its feet. It turned one last time to look at him as he called out. As he looked on he saw the large swarm of blade rising up in front of it.

“ASUKA!”

Shinji could only watch as the blades suddenly darted forward, he tried to run forward but at that moment the ground shook violently throwing him to his feet. He watched as several of the blades pierced Unit 02 at various points along the Eva’s body. The machine tried to move forward thrashing violently and cutting away at its attackers.

“ASUKA!” Shinji yelled a final time as there was a bright flash of light and then only darkness. He looked ahead of him, Unit 02 was gone and for that moment there was only silence. This was followed by the sound of him slowly sinking to his knees, he felt the tears trickle slowly down his cheeks as he whispered her name, “Asuka…”


	32. The Tower Suite - 4th: Hope Leaves

"Just a moment Rei! I'm going to get you out of here!" Mari called out as she felt the entry plug eject itself from Unit 08s neck. She wasted absolutely no time in getting up out of her seat and making her way around to the back of the plug where Rei was.

Mari tried to not panic at the sight of her girlfriend. She tried desperately to not let the tears fall down her cheeks. She had to stay strong for the moment, she had to help Rei and get her out of here and treated. That was all that mattered, she could deal with the emotions later when she knew Rei was safe.

Rei was slumped forward in her seat. Mari's first action was to lean Rei back. Fortunately, the girl seemed to be sitting, she was glassy eyed but conscious. The blood trickling from her nose seemed to have stopped as well for the moment. Mari leaned forward and took Rei's arm putting it around her.

She lifted Rei up and slowly and very carefully started to take her towards the exit of the entry plug. Using her free hand, she opened the door and again very carefully got Rei out onto the steel platform below. She laid Rei out onto her side and turned around just in time to see the hangar bay door opening.

A team of medics led by Sakura and Ritsuko ran into the room with a stretcher behind them. Mari turned and gave Rei a weak smile, "Hold on Rei... Help is coming."

Now a little bit more conscious Rei looked back at Mari with eyes filled with sorrow. She weakly lifted her arm and came to rest her hand clumsily on Mari's cheek, "I... am sorry."

Mari fought back the tears as she shook her head, her voice cracked as she spoke, "Just... shut up Rei. You have nothing to be sorry about."

"I... could not help them."

"Stop it!" Mari felt her heart pounding in her chest, a tear finally broke free, "You were amazing Rei, we... we got them to the tower."

"I am... glad they ar- nnngh"

Rei's body suddenly jerked as she felt a rush of pain spread through it. Mari grabbed hold of Rei's hand, "Rei... Rei what's wrong?"

Rei didn't answer, only letting out a scream of pain and holding onto Mari's hand tightly. As she did Mari saw Ritsuko and the others finally arrive at their position. She reluctantly released Rei's hand and let the others begin to work on her. She weakly staggered over to the railing feeling her stomach churn with fear and nerves.

Behind her Rei screamed out in pain again as she was loaded onto the stretcher. She could hear Sakura issuing orders to the others of what to do with Rei, what to place on her.

_'She is going to be alright... It's just a temporary thing, she'll be fine. She'll be fine. She... We're always fine, right? We always...'_

As Mari tried to keep herself calm she felt a hand come to rest on her shoulder. She looked up to see Ritsuko looking down at her, the doctor's eyes filled with concern.

"Mari... I need to know, what happened?"

Mari shook her head, "I... I don't know, we were piloting and then... I turned around and saw that she was in pain. Suddenly she just screamed out and... What's wrong with her?"

Ritsuko sighed, "I... I don't know Mari..."

"How can you not know?" Mari raised her voice in anger, "It's Rei... You... You're the expert on Rei! You always... You always know!"

Ritsuko didn't move from the spot as Mari yelled at her, instead she calmly placed her hands on the girl's shoulders and knelt down to be level with her.

"Mari I'm not going to lie to you, I don't know what is wrong with her but I promise you I will find out."

"You... Before when this happened, you said you had cured her! You said she would be alright!" Mari shouted back, no longer caring that people could see her cry.

"I know..." Ritsuko said regretfully, "I know what I said and I thought... Rei's biology is... she is..."

Ritsuko was cut off by another sudden scream from Rei. She released her hold on Mari's shoulders and the two of them dashed over to Rei's side. Mari immediately took hold of Rei's hand again and felt the girls grip tighten as she fought through the pain.

"It... It's started..." Rei suddenly said though gritted teeth, "I can... I need to... he's calling me... Shinji... needs me..."

"It’s fine Rei... He has Asuka, Shinji will be fine." Mari tightened her own grip on Rei, "What does she mean it's started?"

Ritsuko looked back at her, "I... I don't know. We need to get Rei treated immediately. Sakura, take her to the medical bay. I need to go to my office and pick something up and Makinami... stay with her... She needs you more than anything else right now."

XXX

Misato glared at the screen and watched as the Wunder passed by the snake-like creature. It had already managed to attack once but she was not going to give it another opportunity. She peered down over the stations below.

“Return fire, show them what we’re capable of.”

She felt a rumbling from within the Wunder as the weapon systems were charged up and the vessel was turned into position. A moment later there was a loud noise as an array of cannons fired one after the other aimed at the giant hull of the strange creature. Bolts of energy smashed into the A.T. Field of the creature accompanied by a loud roar from the awakened ship.

Terrified glances were exchanged between the crew of the Wunder but they continued the attack on the creature. As the last of the fire hit the creatures A.T. Field it emitted a deafening screech of its own. On the opposite side to the Wunder the AAA Thunderchild released a barrage of fire of its own.

Already weakened from the previous attacks the barrage of fire smashed through what was remaining of the creatures A.T. Field. Each shot hit their mark, tearing into the creature's hull. It let out another screech and orange liquid sprayed from the wounds and fragments of its bizarre bio-mechanical body were sent crashing to the ground below.

"Do not give it a chance to recover!" Misato ordered, "Open fire again!"

The Wunder swung about as another volley of fire was readied. The rumbling of the weapons systems would be heard but before the Wunder was able to release anything the creature suddenly started to move. A third screech was heard as the head of the creature turned and started to glow a bright white.

Moments later a number of large ribbon like blades emerged from the creature and it moved towards the Thunderchild with frightening speed.

"AOBA OPEN FIRE NOW!" Misato order as she watched in order as the blades of the creature sunk themselves into the hull of the Thunderchild.

The Wunder finally released the contents of its cannons towards the creature but it was too late. The creatures had already latched itself onto the Thunderchild and was making quick work of its hull. Cross shaped explosions sprouted up all over the body of the creature as more and more of its body was destroyed.

It held on though with more of the blades sprouting and tearing into the hull of the Thunderchild. For each attack landed on the creature it hacked away with terrifying viciousness taking out as much of the vessel as it could.

Finally, the fire from the Wunder stopped and both the creature and the Thunderchild were sent crashing to the ground below. A deathly silence fell over the crew before Misato finally spoke, "K-Kitakami... status?"

There was a brief pause before she finally reported back to Misato, her voice was hushed, “Both the creature and the Thunderchild… are silent.”

XXX

Shinji had remained completely still ever since he had found himself in this cold darkness. He was still kneeling in the same position he was in when he had lost sight of Asuka. His legs were starting to hurt but he did not want to move from this spot. Instead he just silently stared straight ahead. Tears were flowing freely down his cheeks and his eyes were wide open peering into the still blackness.

Those final moments kept on replaying in his head. Asuka had sacrificed herself for him, she had delivered him to the tower just as she had said she was going to do and she had made a promise to defend him. She had pushed him out of the entry plug and got back into the Eva. All Shinji had been able to do was watch as Unit 02 had stumbled back to its feet and been pierced by those blades.

Shinji had wished he could have done something but he was powerless, all he was able to do was watch silently as they had taken the one he loved and he was taken to this strange place.

_'There... is nothing I could have done. I... didn't... I couldn't even try to do something. I shouldn't try to do anything anymore. What's the point? All that happens is I end up losing people... My mother... Ayanami... Kaworu and now her... I've lost... Asuka...'_

He felt his stomach start to churn as he continued to stare straight ahead of him. The tears continued to flow freely down his cheeks as his mind tried to piece it all together. He kept on asking himself the same question, what was the point? What was the point of him doing anything if he kept on losing people?

_'It would have been better if I had never woken up from Unit 01 on that day. If I hadn't then... all of this... would never have happened. This is my fault.''_

Suddenly the tears stopped and the anger and sadness halted alongside it. It was replaced by a feeling of numbness and he started to see a faint light trickle into the room. He remained still not caring to turn around to see who was there. He didn't care whether it was friend or foe, he was done, he just wanted things to end.

There was the slow sound of footsteps from behind as this person slowly approached. They remained still behind Shinji for a few moments before speaking, "The pain of loss... is a terrible thing."

That numbness within Shinji was briefly breached by a feeling of fear at the sound of the man's voice. It was a familiar and cold voice and Shinji started to tremble upon realizing who it belonged to. He dared to not move, a moment ago he had not cared who had entered the room but he had not imagined it could have been this man of all people.

"It is a curse on humanity that we may live and grow, we will fall in love with others and we will end up losing that which we love. It is a cruel world which humanity inhabits." He spoke, "You and I are the same, we have both lost something precious that we would like to regain."

As he finished speaking Shinji slowly started to turn himself around to confirm that it was indeed him. His eyes widened with fear as he saw him, standing just a few feet away was his father. He was staring down at Shinji, one hand in his pocket and his eyes hidden behind that visor.

"F-Father?" Shinji exclaimed as his body froze up once again.

"Would you like to see her again?" Gendo Ikari asked him.

There was a small voice in the back of Shinji's head that told him to stand up and run as fast as he could from this place. It was telling him to shove his father away, flee and not look back. It was pleading with him to ignore anything Gendo Ikari was about to say. It tried to warn him of what he had already been through and what his father had done.

Yet that voice was quickly suppressed by all the feelings of grief and numbness within Shinji. It was suppressed by his own doubt and his fear that if he did turn and run it would be the end and he never would see Asuka again. It was suppressed by the fear of his father and his father's hold over him. Even now with all that Shinji knew of his father he was still terrified of him, unable to say or do anything in his presence.

Shinji looked up at his father, he swallowed and weakly nodded, "Y-Yes... I would..."

"Then stand up." Gendo ordered coldly, "And come with me."

XXX

Misato looked up at the screen in a stunned silence as she watched the torn up pieces of the Thunderchild fall to the ground, the remains of the mammoth creature still wrapped around it. The two gargantuan machines slammed into the ground kicking up a large amount of smoke and dust.

The bridge fell completely silent, no one daring to move or say anything at all, all not quite believing what they had just seen. The Thunderchild had only just been put into commission by Espèrer, much like the AAA Wunder it had been recovered at one of the many sites around the world which contained technology related to the Angels.

It had taken Espèrer some time to unravel its secrets and get it into a usable state. Unlike WILLE they did not have the power of Evangelion Unit 01 to draw from but they did have their own sources of power. Yet in just a few brief moments all that work had been undone, the Thunderchild was no more.

Misato swallowed and stepped forward, she was about to speak when all of a sudden a deafening howl was heard all around them. She picked up speed and peered over the railing down at her crew. Each one of them were looking at one another in shock and confusion.

“What the hell was that?” Misato asked, “Kitakami?”

Kitakami looked back up at her, “U-Unknown Captain… I’m not detecting anything out there that’d be capable of doing tha-.”

Kitakami was suddenly cut off when the howling happened again, this time accompanied by the bridge starting to shake. Misato called out, “Deactivate NAUTILUS! NOW!”

Nagara was the first to call back to Misato, “I-I can’t! I’m locked out of my console Captain! There… There is nothing I can do!”

Misato’s face turned to panic as her eyes darted from person to person, “Kitakami?”

The girls face had turned white as she looked up at Misato, “I’m locked out too!”

“Tama?” She turned to him.

She looked to Tame, his face was twisted into sheer fear as he merely nodded. Misato turned around to Aoba, the man seemed calmer compared to the others but was clearly still startled by what was happening.

“Aoba? What’s happening?”

Aoba shook his head, “I… I don’t know Captain! We’ve lost everything! Weapons, Navigation, Engines and even our communications are down!”

“Shit!” Misato stepped back from the railing to where he was standing, “Get me something… anything back online. Make deactivating NAUTILUS a priority.”

“Yes.”

Aoba started to turn towards his console again where there was a third deafening roar, this one far louder than the first two. Members of the crew raised their hand to their ears to try to block out the noise. This one was, as if Misato needed it already confirmation that it was coming from within the Wunder.

Again the bridge shook, much more violently this time. Misato stumbled forward trying to hold onto a railing to keep her balance. Her hands slipped and she landed with a thud on the floor. Below her she heard a scream from Kitakami, she peered through the gap in the railing and saw the girl had been thrown out of her seat.

She tried to call out only to have her voice drowned out by the sounds of small explosions around the bridge as the consoles set alight. Slowly Misato managed to pull herself to her feet managing to keep her balance despite the shaking of the bridge. She yelled out again, “Is everyone alright?”

Takao’s booming voice replied, “Kitakami is hurt Captain! We’ve got some things on fire down here as well!”

“Takao, you and Tama take care of the fires!” Misato ordered, “Nagara get Kitakami to the medical bay!”

“Yes Captain!” Nagara called back as she started to slowly help her fallen comrade back to her feet.

Misato carefully made her way back over to Aoba, “Status Aoba? Have we got anything back? Are we able to shut down NAUTILUS?”

Aoba shook his head, “Not yet Captain, I’ve managed to get some of the diagnostic and communications back online but… I don’t know how, they just suddenly came back online without me having to do anything. I…”

Misato held on tightly to the railing as she looked up at the viewscreen. She could see that the Wunder was rotating slowly, she was about to reply to Aoba when a fourth loud roar was heard from within the ship. This time it was accompanied by a loud cracking sound, he eyes opened wider in fear.

“Aoba… What the hell was that?”

Aoba turned with a panicked look on his face, “It’s… It’s Unit 01! It’s… awakened! It’s breaking free of its restraints!”

“No! That’s… That’s impossible!” Misato exclaimed, “There… is no pilot! Those things are impossible to break! How is it doing it? How much time do we have?”

Aoba shook his head, “I don’t know… not long and if it does then we…”

Misato nodded, “I know… If it does we lose the ship. Is there anything we can do?”

“Without access to any systems nothing, even if we did… we’ve never been able to stop Unit 01 before.”

Misato turned away from him for a moment going over the options in her head. There only seemed to be one clear option at this time. If Unit 01 escaped then it meant the loss of the AAA Wunder and that meant she had little choice.

“How long does the Wunder have Aoba? Best guess?”

Aoba shrugged, “At its current rate it should have broken free of the restraints in thirty minutes.”

“You said we have communications back online?”

He nodded, “Yes…”

Misato took a deep breath before moving towards the console, she brought up the communications and started to speak, “This is… This is a ship wide communication to everyone on board the Wunder… I am ordering you all to evacuate immediately. We will all rendezvous at the base camp on the northern perimeter of the wasteland.”

She paused for a moment, “I repeat, I am ordering all personell to evacuate immediately.  Make your way to the nearest escape craft and leave the Wunder.”

Her hand came off of the console and she looked at Aoba, “Well… I guess that’s that then.”

Aoba shook his head, “There was nothing we could do.”

She nodded, “I know… Relying on this technology… We should have seen it coming but… I at least expected us to get more than a year out of her at full strength.”

“Captain… what about Asuka and Shinji? They’re… still out there.”

“I know.” Misato sighed, “What is Unit 02’s last known location?”

“The entrance of the tower… We lost contact with them shortly afterwards.” He reported, “You’re not thi-“

She cut him off and smirked, “Congratulations Aoba, you’re in charge of the evacuation. Co-ordinate with Maya and get things organized at the base camp.”

“Wait what?” He looked back at her in shock, “You’re not going to them are you?”

“Yes.” She confirmed, “That’s exactly what I’m doing. I’m not abandoning Shinji or Asuka… not again. Before you ask I am going to go alone and no one is to accompany me. That is a direct order. I’m going to take a VTOL to the tower entrance. You… You tell Ritsuko that I… Just tell the crew that I’m sorry… for everything alright.”

Aoba looked at her in disbelief for a moment, “But Captain I…”

“No.” She looked up at him, “The crew… You all need to stick together. I can do this… It’s only one man I’m going after.”

“Fine but… You can apologize to the crew when you return.”

Misato smiled confidently, “Fine… I will.”

XXX

She heard a loud explosion and felt the Earth shake, as she slowly opened her eyes Asuka Shikinami knew that she should be dead right now and yet somehow she was alive. She was in an immense amount of pain, doubled over in her seat with her hands cross over her body clutching tightly at her arms but she was alive. She shook her head and tried to will the pain away, it was unlike anything she had felt before in her Eva.

She knew fine well that she should not be alive right now. She knew that it was impossible for her to be alive and yet here she was. In pain, sat in a darkened cockpit looking out across a wasteland of death and destruction but alive.

Some of the pain started to subside and she hissed as she leaned back in her seat trying to recall what had led to this moment. The last thing she could remember before this was shoving Shinji out of the entry plug and making sure he had gotten into the tower. It was the only thing she could have done at the time. Asuka had to protect him and make sure he got inside that tower even if that meant sacrificing herself.

Of course she was not going to go down without a fight. Asuka had returned to the entranceway of the tower and faced her opponents head on. It had not been up much of a fight, she was already exhausted by that point and barely able to function. They had flown directly at her, sliced and hacked away at her Eva until they each decided to pierce their way through the machine. She could even remember seeing a final flash of light followed by her falling into unconsciousness.

_‘That’s… how it happens right? So… how the hell am I still here?’_

There was silence around her as she scanned the battlefield for any signs of movement. Everything was eerily still and calm almost as if the world had completely stopped and she was the only living soul left. All that was out there was the trail of destruction left in the wake of the battle. She thought for a moment that maybe she had died and that this was perhaps some sort of purgatory.

_‘There is nothing out there… No TARKUS Units, No Unit 08, no AAA Thunderchild… no Wunder. What happened to it all?’_

Whatever had happened she needed to find out and she was unable to do that sat in her Eva. She needed to find out something. What had happened to the Wunder? To Shinji? To her? With a loud grunt she started to push herself up out of the seat. She was just able to prop herself up and lean over the edge. She was just about to get to her feet when they gave out and she collapsed to the ground with a loud thud.

Asuka lay still for a few moments before trying to move once again. She propped herself up on her elbows and once more tried to get to her feet. She managed to get half way to her feet before screaming out in frustration as her legs once again gave way and she collapsed to the ground of the entry plug.

_‘Damnit come on Shikinami! You’ve lived through much worse than this! At least something hasn’t tried to eat your entry plug this time! It’s just a scratch… a lot of scratches… a bandage or ten will fix them up. Don’t give up now!’_

She gritted her teeth and tried to prop herself up again. It took a lot of effort but she was finally able to get herself into a crawling positon and slowly make her way over to the doorway of the entry plug. She leaned herself up against the wall to catch her breath. She glanced over her body trying to see the extent of her injuries, the dim light of the entry plug revealing very little.

Asuka was sure she was bleeding, from a number of places it seemed but she kept on reminding herself that at least she was alive. She kept on trying to think of how it was possible, she was completely synchronized with the Eva when the Nemesis Series had launched its final attack. She should have suffered a lot more damage than this.

 _‘Mama… You protected me didn’t you?’_ She thought to herself.  _‘That’s why I’m alive now… that’s why I…’_

She shook her head and smiled softly at the thought,  _‘You were looking out for me…’_

She turned her body around carefully and tried to reach up for the door release. She was able to make it halfway up the wall towards the release before her body gave out again. She landed back on the ground of the entry plug and lay there for a moment glaring up angrily at it.

She was about to try a second time when she suddenly heard the sound of footsteps from behind the door,  _‘Footsteps? So someone is out there, is it Shinji? Has he come back? Someone from the Wunder?’_

She heard a loud noise echo through the entry plug as the person of the other side of the door started to open the emergency entrance to the plug. Asuka slowly rolled herself onto her back and leaned herself up against the opposite wall awaiting her rescuer.

Finally the door opened letting some light trickle into the entry plug. She watched and her eyes widened with shock at the identity of the person on the other side, “You!”

Her first thought was to scramble for something in the entry plug that could be used as a weapon but there was nothing within reach. Even if there was she was most likely too weak to brandish it. The man for a moment kept his distance, he peered into the plug and shone a flashlight in her direction.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Asuka snarled, “Come to finish the job they started?”

The man looked at her with a mixture of shock on his face before shaking his head, “I… I am attempting to right a wrong.”

“Go to hell!” She bit back.

“Please…” Kozo Fuyutsuki said calmly, “I would… Please let me help you… I want to stop him as much as you all do.”

XXX

Shinji didn’t know how much time had passed since he had started following his father through this long corridor. He was vaguely aware that they seemed to be heading upwards, he wondered what their final destination would be. He dared to not ask his father anything, be it where they were going or what had happened.

Their journey so far had been completely silent with his father not once seeming to acknowledge Shinji was there. He did not look behind him to see if Shinji was indeed following or say anything to him. All this had done was give Shinji time to get lost in his own thoughts once more.

Shinji was unable to shake that image of what had happened to Asuka from his head. There was absolutely no way that she could be alive after all of that. His father’s words to him earlier seemed to confirm that.

Shinji still felt that strange numbness within himself and along with it a fogginess had set in before him. He felt like his body was floating as he followed his father. It was not dissimilar to how he had felt after the loss of Kaworu. A feeling almost like a dark cloud had descended around him.

Shinji could not remember if this was how he had felt when he had lost his mother. There was so little of that time he could remember, a giant gap in his memory and although some of it had returned there were still many missing pieces.

When he thought he had lost Rei he had felt differently. Back then he had felt rage and a burning desire to get her back. Of course her death had not been confirmed then, he knew that she was still alive and that they could get her back. With Kaworu it had not just been the numbness he had felt but overwhelming guilt. Kaworu’s death had in part been Shinji’s fault. He could not run away from that fact.

Shinji looked ahead of him and realized that he was not the only one to have experienced terrible loss. His father had experienced that same pain when Shinji’s mother had been taken. Had he felt this numbness as well when it had happened to him? Was that why his father acted the way he did now? Was it still affecting him so much?

“F-Father…” Shinji stopped walking as he nervously called out, “Y-You… You lost someone you loved as well… a long time ago, didn’t you?”

Gendo had stopped walking at this point and Shinji watched as his father’s head lowered slightly, “Yes, I did. Tell me Shinji, do you remember anything of your mother?”

Shinji nodded, “I remember… that she was a kind woman and she loved us both. I… I can remember how she died now as well. It was the experiment with Unit 01. Why… Why did no on tell me?”

“I see…” Gendo looked up, “So you remember how it happened now. Interesting.”

Gendo turned around to look at Shinji, “Your mother sacrificed herself for the future of humanity Shinji. She… wished that you would be there to see it but the event was very traumatizing for you. You… forgot it.”

“I see…” Shinji muttered.

“It was your mothers wish that humanity would overcome the trails it faced because of the sacrifice she made on that day. She was… a kind woman, the kindest I ever knew.”

“So you did care for her then?” Shinji asked.

Gendo nodded, “Yes, much like I cared for you at one point but with Yui gone… I was no longer able to do so. On that day I saw the truth of what it was to be human. I saw the truth of this endless cycle of death and rebirth we face in this world. Death creates nothing Shinji but pain for others. There is nothing but pain in this world but… there is a way to correct that. There is a path we can take…”

“Y-You…” Shinji trailed off as he felt his stomach start to churn on hearing his father’s words.

“You understand that it was never my intention to involve you at this stage Shinji.” He spoke, “You were to be spared this fate but perhaps it is for the best. After all you understand it more than anyone else don’t you, you know that pain more than anyone else in this world.”

“I… I…” Shinji stuttered, unable to get any words out.

“The world as it stands is nothing but pain and sorrow. We can try to be happy but there is nothing at the end of it but sorrow and abandonment. In the end we are alone with our pain. I… want to end that, I want to be reunited with Yui once more… without her I am nothing Shinji, just like you are nothing without Asuka but we can be something again. We can put an end to this curse upon humanity.”

“I… I don’t understand father.”

“You will… Keep following me.”

XXX

Asuka hated herself for not having the strength to fight or resist the help she was receiving at this very moment. It was bad enough that she had been beaten again by the Nemesis Series, her pride could only take so much of that. She always hated receiving medical treatment after a battle as it was, she preferred to deal with it herself. The fact that it was Kozo Fuyutsuki of all people administering the treatment right now made matters so much worse.

She was doing her best to try to see this in a positive light. Asuka was alive and she had managed to complete her objective. She had gotten Shinji inside the tower. So that was a victory for her. She couldn’t see it as anything else after all she was alive and the Nemesis Series weren’t.

 She glared silently at Fuyutsuki and looked him up and down as he treated her wounds. He was also silent and seemed to be making an effort to focus solely on her wounds. She looked at his face as he worked, the man had of course aged significantly since the last time she had seen him.

Her interactions with the man had only been brief before the Third Impact. He had seemed kind enough, especially in compared to Gendo. He was always seen to be by Gendo’s side and the general impression was that Fuyutsuki handled most things to do with actually speaking to people within NERV.

“I suppose you expect me to be grateful to you for this.” Asuka said coldly.

Fuyutsuki looked up at her for a moment and shook his head, “I expect nothing from you Shikinami. I need to clean this wound on your wrist, this might sting a little.”

True to his word Asuka felt a sharp stinging pain in her wrist as he administered a small amount of disinfectant to her wound. She felt her leg twitch and focused all her effort on remaining as still as she could and not showing any trace of pain. She wasn’t going to let him know anything was hurting.

If anything the treatment had confirmed a few things to her. The first was that nothing had been broken from the fight. Secondly most of the damage to her body was just small cuts that had been patched up easily. That meant that when patched up she’d be able to follow Shinji into the tower and help him stop his father. She just needed to get a little bit more rest and all would be fine.

“I have done what I can.” Fuyutsuki announced, “Your injuries weren’t severe which is surprising considering the damage done to your Eva but… it would be best to get them looked at properly. I… I can take you to your people if you like.”

“You will not be taking her anywhere!” Came the sound of a voice from the entrance of the tower, “Stand up and move away from her.”

“Of course.” Fuyutsuki stood up immediately and put his hands up over his head. He took several steps back and Asuka turned to see Misato standing with her gun aimed directly at Fuyutsuki. Misato carefully entered the area and made her way towards Asuka.

“Asuka… Are you alright?” Misato asked.

Asuka nodded her head, “I’m alive at least.”

“What about Shinji?” Misato asked. She looked around for a moment and frowned as she looked at Fuyutsuki, “Where is he? What did you do to him?”

“I am afraid I don’t know where Shinji is. On my arrival I was only able to find Shikinami here.”

Misato turned towards Asuka with a worried expression on her face. Asuka shook her head slowly, “He’s… inside the tower. I… I got him here and told him to go to the tower and that I’d protect him. Fuyutsuki… arrived later.”

“He’s… in the tower?” Misato stated slowly as a horrified look crossed her face, “You mean he’s… so why aren’t you?”

Asuka sighed, “Nemesis Series were still chasing us… I had to hold them off. I’m going to go and get him now.”

Asuka slowly started to get to her feet but felt a hand press her back down. Misato was looking between both her and Fuyutsuki, “No… You’re not going anywhere yet. Not until we figure out what he’s doing here and what Gendo is up to.”

Fuyutsuki nodded, “I’m here because I saw what happened to Shikinami. It was my hope that I could save her. I don’t mean you or her any harm Katsuragi. I’m not here as your enemy but as a willing ally.”

“Ally?” Misato spat out the word in anger, “You’re NERV! You’re what we have been trying to destroy for fifteen years! You and Ikari are responsible for what happened to us all! You betrayed us!”

“I’m… aware of those facts and I won’t try to deny anything or make excuses for my role in events.” Fuyutsuki answered calmly, “I cannot make up for the sins of my past but… I also cannot allow Gendo Ikari to continue down this path. I want to… I have to make sure he is stopped. For the future… No… I’m lying, I’m doing this for Yui… and for Shinji.”

“Why now?” She asked, “Why the sudden change of heart? You’ve had fourteen years! You… You could have put an end to this at any time but you stuck with him. You helped him.”

Fuyutsuki nodded, “Because I’m a coward who couldn’t do the right thing. That is the only answer I’m able to give you Katsuragi.”

“What changed?”

“Shinji returned and… I realized what Gendo was doing… was wrong. We had already taken away his future once and… I couldn’t see that happen again. I couldn’t take part in that but I was not able to act out.”

“You could have done something!” Misato shouted, “We weren’t exactly hard to find and you knew we were looking for Shinji! You could have stepped in and stopped him from doing whatever it was Gendo had him doing!”

“I know…” He nodded, “I tried but… time was against us.”

Misato raised a curious eyebrow, “Explain.”

“I showed Shinji something whilst he was there and spoke to him. I told him something that Gendo had been hiding from him for a long time, that he had a right to know. The truth about his mother. It was one of the few things I could do and it was my hope that I could speak to him further but… the opportunity did not present itself.”

“A lot of good that did too!” Asuka called out, “All you did was hurt him by telling him that! He already thought he had destroyed his damn world and then you have to dump all of that about his mother on him too!”

“I know and I knew back then it might have not been a great idea. When he left I hoped that maybe it would kindle something down the line but I could not put my faith in that so… I started to take action.” Fuyutsuki explained, “It was not easy, Gendo had eyes and ears everywhere but I was able to do little things. Pass out information to Espèrer, to Ryoki Kaji and… to yourselves.”

“You mean… that source from NERV, was you?” Misato asked unable to hide her shock.

“Yes but… I fear that I might have made things worse somehow by my latest actions. You were able to save Rei but…”

“Made things worse? How exactly? What the hell is Ikari planning? Why is this tower so important?”

“Ikari means to use this tower to open a forbidden path to the heavens and grant himself unimaginable power.” Fuyutsuki answered, “His goal… at least his original goal was to be reunited with Yui but I fear it is more than that now.”

“Yui? You mean… all of this, all he has done has been just so he can get his dead wife back?” Asuka cried out in disbelief.

“Yes, that grief at losing Yui has been the motivating factor in his life for the past twenty four years. All that he has done has been to reunite with her but it is beyond that now. He’s become… warped somehow. Delving into things that should not be… he…”

“To hell with this!” Misato cut him off, “Okay that can wait, how does he plan to do it and how do we stop him?”

Fuyutsuki shook his head, “Stopping him… I don’t know but I know how he plans to do it. Originally he was going to use one of the Ayanami types as a catalyst to trigger the tower to open the path required. Ayanami is… well she is a clone of Yui so carries her bloodline. Yui’s bloodline dates back to those who built the tower. He is unable to use an Ayanami type thanks to you stopping Makoto but… he does not need an Ayanami type now…”

A look of horror crossed Asuka’s face, “Y-You mean… Shinji… he can use Shinji and I… I just delivered Shinji straight to him!”

“Yes… Shinji is his chosen catalyst.

“That bastard he… he knew didn’t he! He knew that I’d… do something like this and set it up.”

Asuka slowly rose to her feet as Misato looked on in confusion, “What does she mean?”

“Katsuragi if you had lost everything precious to you in the world and were given the option to get it back.” Fuyutsuki started, “Would you let the world burn to do so? If you feel like there is nothing left for you at all?”

“B-But… Shinji hasn’t lost everything! Asuka is… alive and everyone else is!”

Asuka propped herself up against her entry plug and sighed, “Yes but the idiot doesn’t know that does he? The last thing he saw was me about to get cut up and then he was taken away! He thinks I’m dead! By all rights I should be dead! I’m only alive because of some sort of miracle but now… we need to get in there and save him!”

Misato nodded, “I get it! Okay Fuyutsuki I’m giving you a chance, what do you want in return.”

“Nothing.” He shook his head, “I just want to see an end to this.”

XXX

They were finally at end of the long spiral corridor and Shinji waited as his father opened a door into another room. This room was large and circular, at their entrance to the room was a thin walkway that attached to a circular platform in the middle. Shinji could see another walkway coming off of the right-hand side of the platform.

The air was thick with the scent of LCL and Shinji peered over the walkway to see an ankle-deep pool of the liquid was all around them. The circular platform was not empty, at the back fo the room was a large white cross shaped object not dissimilar to the one he had seen in Lilith's chamber so many years ago. There was no trace of any creature on the cross though.

Towards the center of the platform was a bizarre looking contraption that seemed to consist of a tank, a number of wires leading up into the ceiling of the chamber and the pool of LCL. Shinji stepped into the room further and felt a chill run down his spine.

His father said nothing as they made their way to the central platform. That same numbness Shinji had been feeling on the way up was still persisting within him. It was a strange feeling, he wanted to and knew he should be feeling sadness and sorrow at this point but he just couldn't. There was a feeling like he just wasn't himself right now, all that he had was this compulsion to keep moving forward and following his father.

"We have arrived." His father announced, "I am afraid we might not have much time however."

Shinji could only nod weakly, "I... I still don't understand, what is this place?"

"This is where you will begin to aid me in reshaping this world." Gendo explained as his moved towards the device, "What you see here is ancient, a relic left behind by the people responsible for our very existence. A gateway to transcending beyond ourselves."

Shinji still wasn't sure that he understood what his father was saying. This sounded very different to being able to see Asuka or even his mother again. Yet he couldn't bring himself to question his father on it.

"You have never been aware of just how special you really are." Gendo stated, "Both yourself and your mother... come from a very ancient line. A line that goes all the way back to the ones that build all of this. It is from that same line that SEELE are from. In fact, your mother was the daughter of one of SEELE, she wished to shield you from this fact but I think you should understand the importance of your own existence."

Shinji felt his mouth grow dry as his father spoke, his mind could barely process any of it. It all felt so very wrong. Yet he was absolutely powerless to stop it.

Gendo smirked as he powered up the machines, "It is time to reclaim that which we have lost. Do you understand the importance of just who you are Shinji? Now... Reunite me with Yui."

XXX

Rei slowly opened her eyes to find herself lying face down on a warm patch of golden sand. She felt no pain as she slowly sat herself up and looked around this unfamiliar landscape. It seemed to be a beach overlooking a gentle sea. She rose to her feet and felt a warm breeze caress her plugsuit clad body.

_'Where is this place?'_

Rei looked around for any sign of the others but quickly realized she was alone. There was no one here besides her, no Wunder, no Mari, no Shinji and no Asuka. She started to slowly take a few steps forward feeling pangs of loneliness with each step.

She wondered if maybe this was some strange dream but there was a feeling about it that gave it a sense of reality. Her dreams did not usually feel like this but if she was not dreaming then where could she be? What was this place and how did she get here?

She tried to recall everything leading up to this moment. She had been inside Unit 08 with Mari and fighting the waves of Nemesis Series. Something had happened to her, she had become crippled with overwhelming pain and then everything had gone black. She was sure they had returned to the Wunder and Sakura had sedated her but there was little else beyond that.

Rei continued to walk along the side of the beach and after a few minutes of walking spotted a figure of a woman in the distance. She was standing with her back to Rei and seemed to be clutching something in her arms. There was something oddly familiar about the woman's appearance Rei noted as she got closer.

Rei got closer until she was only a couple of metres from the woman. She stopped still and the woman turned her head to acknowledge Rei's presence. She smiled warmly at Rei, her soft eyes and dark brown hair triggering something in Rei.

"Hello Rei, it's a pleasure to finally meet you."

Rei's mouth opened ever so slightly in shock. She realized exactly who this woman was now. It was Yui Ikari, Shinji's mother and the woman from which Rei was created. Rei's eyes wandered downwards to the object Yui was holding. She saw it was actually a baby boy who was sleeping soundly in her arms.

"You are Shinji's mother..." Rei stated flatly.

"Yes." Yui nodded, "I am."

"And that is... Shinji, isn't it?"

Yui let out a laugh, "Yes, it is although he is slightly different to how you know him I imagine. Would you like to hold him?"

Yui turned her body around and carefully held out the baby Shinji to Rei. Rei didn't quite know what to do, she stepped forward and gently took the baby from Yui's arms. It was strange, Rei had never held a baby before in her life and yet something about this felt natural. She cuddles the child close to her and smiled as she watched him sleep.

"You're a natural." Yui remarked.

"I am... you. It would make sense that I was able to do this would it not?" Rei asked.

Yui shook her head, "I don't think so. Just because you were born from me doesn't mean you would be instinctively good at this. After all I imagine the real Shinji would be quite nervous when it comes to this and he was born from myself was he not?"

Rei thought about it for a moment and nodded, "I suppose that is true."

"You would make a good mother Rei." Yui suddenly stated, "But I suppose it's not something you have thought about, is it?"

Rei shook her head, "I have never considered it, I do not know if I am capable of bearing children nor am I in a relationship that makes it biologically possible to conceive naturally."

Yui simply smiled, "Well obstacles can always be overcome but... I fear this is probably not a subject we should discuss. I apologize I always get a little bit of a 'typical mother' syndrome about this sort of thing."

Rei nodded, "Why... am I here?"

Yui's expression suddenly softened and her smile turned to a frown, "He's in pain... my son, the real one I mean. The one... out there?"

She nodded towards the horizon and Rei watched as a vision of the Tower of Babel came into view. She could see around it the battlefield she had fought in prior to her being here. It was a complete mess of death and destruction, parts of the Nemesis Series lay scattered and she could even make out components fo the Wunder and AAA Thunderchild.

Her head snapped back to Yui, "The Wunder... are they alright?"

Yui nodded calmly, "They were able to evacuate... I gave them the time to do so but... time is running out."

Rei looked again at the vision before her. She could now make out the thin beam of light that stretched from the top of the tower towards the heavens. Where it ended was a small black hold in the guy, its perimeter all the colours of the rainbow.

"I am afraid... this was not the bright future that I had envisioned for Shinji." Yui stated, "I... it was my hope that."

"Your hope is irrelevant." Rei cut her off angrily and stepped forward, still clutching the baby Shinji to her. She softly rubbed the child's back as her slept. She kept her voice down so as to not wake the child, "You left him when he was a child and had him observe your leaving. You did not stop to consider the effects your actions would have on others. You were selfish."

Yui seemed quite taken aback by Rei's sudden outburst but she eventually nodded, "I was and I accept that Rei. I thought what I was doing would save humanity but I did not think... I did not consider how Gendo would react or others."

She stared out to the horizon, "My husband's actions are... detestable but I have some responsibility in that. I have to make sure he is stopped yet I am not strong enough to do it myself."

Rei stared ahead, "I will help you. I will do whatever it takes to help Shinji, he would do the same for me."

Rei turned to Yui and carefully handed the baby Shinji back to her, "Take me to him, let me help him."

 Rei felt the environment start to change around her. The luscious beach vanished and was replaced by the smell of LCL, the views of the tower and battlefield and the sights of a familiar looking cockpit. It was a single seated cockpit, functioning and looking out across the scattered remaings fo the battles participants.

"This is Unit 01 but how?" Rei asked.

"I was able to awaken Unit 01 and break free of the Wunder. All of your friends are safe. They are currently tending to you on a camp on the edge of this land."

"I do not understand." Rei stated, "I am here, so how can they be tending to me?"

"You are both here and you are not. Your body is safe with them but your mind and soul is as one with me. We share a link, you and I. One that we need to use to save Shinji."

"I will be able to return?" Rei asked.

"Yes." Yui confirmed, "I will not allow harm to come to you."

"That is good." Rei looked ahead of herself and grabbed the controls of Unit 01. It felt unusual, very unlike the feeling she had within Unit 08 or Unit 00. She felt as one with the Evangelion. Be that because of the circumstances of her being here of the differences with those Units she did not know. All she knew was she had to help Shinji.

She took a slow step towards the tower and noted that the tear in the sky had opened up.

_'Please... Do not lose hope Shinji, I am coming for you.'_

XXX

Shinji was now stood in front of the large tank and peering inside. His father was nearby bringing everything that was needed online. He raised a hand slowly and pressed it against the glass. Was this what his father needed him to do? Was this how he could see Asuka again? Just step inside of this thing.

“You should know Shinji…” Gendo spoke, “All I have done for the last twenty four years has been for this very moment.”

Shinji closed his eyes and pressed his head up against the tank. The numbness was still there within him, he could feel a strange compulsion within him to climb inside of the tank and aid his father but that small voice inside of him was back. Telling him that this was wrong and yet he didn’t know what was wrong about it. He didn’t know what was to come next.

“Your mother was the one bright light in my life.” His father explained, “She was the first person to truly say she loved me. I had nothing until I met her and then you came into our lives Shinji. I was… truly a happy man but because of SEELE I lost her. It was their plan that led to her sacrifice… I could not go on anymore and I could no longer be a father to you.”

“You… Could no longer be my father?” Shinji’s voice cracked as he answered, memories of that day he was left at the train station with his teacher flashed through his head. He could remember calling out to his father on that day but getting no reply.

“Indeed.” Gendo confirmed colder, “I am still unable to be that man. Without Yui in my life I am nothing but… I do not wish for his. I do not wish for others to feel this pain either, SEELE were right, humanity does need to change but not in the way they wanted. Humanity deserves to live on but I will be the one to shape that future. You will be the one to help me rid this world of that pain.”

“I… I will be the one to rid the world of pain…” Shinji muttered to himself as he felt a tear slowly roll down his cheek.

“You don’t like feeling that pain either do you?” Gendo asked him, “You hate it just as I do. You’d do anything to rid yourself of it.”

“I… do not like it.” Shinji nodded his head as once more the memory of what had just happened came rushing back to him. He had lost Asuka and though he knew it was not his fault he felt he was somehow to blame. He felt like he should have done more. Maybe he could have been quicker at taking out the enemy. Maybe he could have taken control of Unit 02. Maybe he could have been more forceful when she tried to push him out of the entry plug.

_‘It should have been me and not her! She… Asuka deserved to live damn it!’_

“We are ready to begin now Shinji.” Gendo stated coldly, “The final ritual for humanity has begun. We will cleanse this world together but first… take me to Yui. Bring her back to me.”

Shinji stared open mouthed at the tank in front of him. Tears were streaming down his face once again as he felt his body start to shiver. His mother… Asuka… they were gone, dead and here he was facing the possibility that he could bring them back.

“W-What will happen… to the others?” Shinji asked weakly.

“That is not relevant for the moment, their future will be decided by us. Now… begin Shinji.”

Suddenly Shinji felt that voice return inside of his head telling him to run. To turn around and run and never look back but it was much too late. His body was acting for him as if driven by an external force. He rose to his feet and gazed into the tank. He blinked and immediately jumped back in fright, the tank was no longer empty. Staring back at him with cold red eyes, clad in the same plugsuit that he had been months ago was Kaworu Nagisa.

“K-Kaworu!” Shinji called out in fear as he scrambled backwards away from the tank.

“What are you doing?” Gendo looked at him in frustration, “We do not have the time for this!”

Shinji turned around on the spot and his eyes grew wide with fright as he saw the ghostly image of Rei Aynami stood at the doorway they had used to enter this room. A moment later the room shook violently. Shinji was sent flying into the middle of the room landing with a loud thud. Ahead of him his father was also knocked down.

Shinji was the first to get to his feet. He felt a brief wave of dizziness wash over him as he struggled to get to his feet. Something felt strange, he looked around the room and it seemed as though the fogginess that he was feeling movements ago had been lifted.

_‘What… What was that?’_

As if answering his question he heard Rei’s soft voice in his head, “Run Shinji!”


	33. The Tower Suite Finale - The Lamb Lies Down

Shinji was moving through another spiral corridor upwards and away from the large chamber that he had left his father in. He had no idea where he was going only that he knew he had to get away. There was nothing right about this whole situation at all. The sight of Kaworu and Rei had lifted that cloud over his mind but now all he was left with was the overwhelming series of emotions rushing through him.

He slowed down and clutched at his head as a wave of dizziness struck him. Images started to flash through his mind. Images of people he knew, of places he had been and events he had taken part in. He felt his chest tighten as one by one the images flew through and repeated.

_‘Asuka’_

He stumbled forward as a series of scenes from his memory played out. His first meeting with Asuka, him finding out he would be living with her, the night she had come into his room after fighting that Angel together, him having to listen as she was nearly killed by the Dummy Plug, him seeing her again, them confessing their love and him losing her.

_‘Misato’_

Misato flashed through his mind and with it came more scenes. Meeting Misato when the fourth Angel attacked. Her taking him to look over Tokyo-3. Seeing her again after the fourteen years he was inside Unit 01. Her welcoming him back to the ship.

_‘Rei’_

Seeing Rei for the first time, her being used to force him to pilot Evangelion Unit 01. Talking to her at school and rushing into her Entry Plug during the fight with the sixth Angel. Losing Rei in the battle against the tenth and trying hard to get her back. Discovering the truth of who she was at NERV and gaining her as a sister.

_‘Father’_

His father abandoning him. Summoning him back to NERV and telling him to pilot. Seeing his father again at NERV and seeing him once again just now.

One by one these people flashed through his mind as did the accompanying memories. Along with them were other people he knew, Kaworu, Mari, Sakura, Touji his mother. With each time they played the dizziness he was feeling became more intense. He felt a sharp pain in his shoulder as he fell into the wall.

He came to a stop and tried to focus and rid himself of these visions. He propped himself up against a wall and shook his head.

_‘I can’t take this anymore… this is… this is too much. I can’t do this… I don’t know what to do… I don’t know what to do… I don’t know what to do… I need Asuka… I need Rei… I need Misato… I need someone… please… I can’t… I can’t take this anymore… I can’t lose anyone else…’_

Shinji tried to move forward again but regretted it immediately as a rush of nausea suddenly went through him. He sank to his knees and vomited out the contents of his stomach.

Teary eyes and in pain he muttered, “I can’t… I can’t… I can’t take this… somebody… somebody please help me… please… help…”

With those words he collapsed onto his side and slipped into unconsciousness. As he drifted off he thought he could feel someone’s presence and a set of arms gently lift him up but he wasn’t sure of anything anymore.

XXX

Ever since they had entered the small craft that had carried Fuyutsuki and Gendo to this place Asuka had not taken her eyes off of the elderly man. She had watched his every move as he had brought them into the ship and started working at one of the small consoles. Misato was stood nearby, not directly behind him but a few metres away and also watching intently.

If he was bothered by their presence he gave no indication of it. Instead he worked at the machine, bringing it online and scrolling through a series of images. Asuka was not sure what exactly was on the screen. She was too far away to see anything, having been told by Misato to stay seated and rest for the moment.

She didn’t care much for being told to sit around and do nothing but she supposed it was for the best. Her focus was on getting Shinji back before his father could do whatever it was he had planned for him. So if she had to save up her strength for that then so be it. She just didn’t like the fact.

“So Gendo wants Shinji to think Asuka is dead…”

Fuyutsuki looked towards Asuka with a look of sympathy, “Ikari’s intention was for Asuka to die but yes… his plan relies on Shinji believing Asuka is dead.”

“Why?” Asuka growled.

“Because Ikari on his own is incapable of using the tower to do what he needs it to. He lacks the same thing that Shinji and Yui have which was within all of SEELE. A link to the people who built the tower. His plan was to use one of the Ayanami types, as clones of Yui they weren’t perfect but they would have been able to accomplish what he wanted. When that was no longer possible he settled on Shinji…”

“He wanted Yui back… so he thought that if Asuka died then Shinji would want her back and do anything to get her back, is that it?”

Fuyutsuki nodded, “Yes. You… saw what Shinji was willing to do during the Third Impact to get Rei back. If it was Asuka then he…”

“You mean the Third Impact that Shinji took the blame for because of NERV?” Asuka cut him off angrily.

“Yes… I mean that Third Impact. Gendo believes that Shinji is very much like himself… That he would do anything to get Asuka back even if that meant following Gendo’s orders.”

“And what about you?” Misato sneered, “What do you believe?”

Fuyutsuki shook his head, “I believe Shinji is nothing like his father. When I saw him and spoke to him at NERV I saw… I saw only his mother in him but I fear that may not be enough. Gendo will have thought of the possibility of Shinji declining his offer and so… we have to act fast.”

“So how do we get inside the tower? Gendo got in right, so what do we do?” Misato asked him.

“That particular secret Ikari kept to himself. I’ve been able to disable the security around the tower but as far as getting inside I have yet to decipher how the Key will help us.”

“What Key?” Asuka queried.

"Nebuchadnezzar's Key... It was a failsafe device that Ikari used to bypass the towers security and gain access to the main structure. I still have it embedded in this ship but outside of deactivating the security I haven’t been able to figure out anything else."

"And how long will it take for you to figure it out?"

"I don't know but there is someone who might be able to help." Fuyutuski looked towards Misato, "Akagi... If anyone can figure this out it'd be her."

Misato nodded, "I'll put in a call to have her transported over here immediately."

Misato moved to make the call as Asuka continued to watch Fuyutsuki's attempted to figure out how to work the device.

"The Nemesis Series falling, was that the doing of this Key as well?" She asked.

"Yes, I regret I was too late in deactivating those as well. I saw what happened to the Thunderchild it was... a tragic loss of life."

"So it was you who stopped them from killing me?"

Much to her surprise the man shook his head, "Actually, it wasn't. I was unable to trigger the shutdown until after they had attacked you. I... can offer you no explanation for that."

 _'Mama!'_ Asuka thought hopefully to herself as his words sunk in. There could be no other explanation for it. Asuka certainly hadn't have fought them off and anyone else had retreated by that point. It had to have been her mother.

_'Thank you.'_

XXX

Shinji slowly opened his eyes and felt a softness beneath him. As he stirred he could hear the faint sounds of classical music from within the room. His entire body felt weak as he rolled onto his back and sat himself up and checked out his surroundings. He was lying on a single bed, he was still in his plugsuit and had a blanket draped over him.

_‘Where… Where am I?’_

He heard the sound of a door open and his eyes were immediately drawn to it. He half expected his father to step through or hopefully Misato or Sakura. He was not however expecting it to be the person who did. The two of them locked eyes for a moment, Shinji felt a surge of fear spread through him and he gripped the blanket tightly and backed himself up against the wall.

Kaworu immediately sensed Shinji’s fear and stepped forward holding his hands out to try to calm him, “Shinji, it’s alright. You are safe here, there is nothing to be afraid of.”

“Y-You… K-Kaworu… But but how?” Shinji spluttered.

Kaworu maintained a distance from Shinji so as to not rile up the boy any further. He stepped further into the room and closed the door behind him.

“Please Shinji, you don’t need to be scared. I’m here to help you.”

“H-Help? Help me?” Shinji mumbled, “No… No No No No, this doesn’t make sense. This isn’t right. You… You’re dead… I I I… How! I don’t… I don’t…”

Shinji felt his chest tighten and he glanced down at the covers gripping the sides of his head with his hands. He shook his head from side to side daring to not look at Kaworu.

“This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This isn’t real.”

“Shinji, this is real.” Kaworu slowly and carefully stepped forwards towards the bed. He gently climbed onto it knee first and wrapped both his arms around Shinji’s shaking body and held the boy close to him.

“This is real Shinji, I’m not dead.”

Shinji felt the warmth from Kaworu’s body all around him and his first instinct was to bury his head into Kaworu’s shoulder. He wrapped both his arms around Kaworu’s back, this was real. Kaworu was here right now in front of him. Shinji felt a rush of emotion as everything from the day suddenly came back to him. He let out a loud sob and felt the tears flow freely down his cheeks again.

The two remained like this for a few minutes. Kaworu sympathetically rubbing Shinji’s back and holding him close. Shinji sobbing and holding onto Kaworu tightly. After those few minutes the tears finally stopped and Shinji pulled away from Kaworu.

“You are in much pain Shinji Ikari.” Kaworu spoke softly, his voice keeping that same level of kindness that Shinji had known before, “Please, talk to me about it.”

Shinji wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and shook his head. He looked at Kaworu once again, this didn’t make any sense. He had watched Kaworu die months ago, he had been the cause of it and yet the boy was sat before him.

“Kaworu how… how are you here… You… I killed you?” Shinji asked weakly.

Kaworu merely smiled and shook his head, “No Shinji, you were not responsible for what happened to me. My prior vessels death was not your fault. It was the result of a lapse of judgement on my part. My desire to fix things and ensure your happiness causes me to lose sight of certain things. In other words, I was careless.”

“Your… prior vessel?” Shinji asked with some confusion in his voice.

“Yes, I am not unlike Rei Ayanami. When that previous body died I was simply transferred into this one.”

“Oh…” Shinji muttered as he looked at Kaworu, “You’re just like Ayanami.”

Shinji fell silent for a moment as Kaworu sat himself on the edge of the bed. As the two of them fell silent Shinji started to recall the mentions of Kaworu since he had returned to the Wunder. Kaworu had been there as a part of WILLE at one point. Asuka had seen him during her recovery. Also Misato had mentioned that Kaworu was the one suspected of being the Mark.06 during the Third Impact.

Shinji felt himself sigh as he took a few deep breaths. The calm that he had felt moment ago had been replaced by anger and confusion. Kaworu was not what he seemed, Shinji had known that from the start but Shinji had trusted him. He had to ask himself if he could really trust Kaworu now.

“You have questions for me don’t you Shinji?”

Shinji nodded, “Y-Yeah…”

Kaworu’s gaze lowered and for one of the first times Shinji saw genuine sadness in Kaworu’s eyes. He sighed, “I owe you a huge explanation of who exactly I am, of what I am and what I’m doing. I want to tell you the truth, you… you deserve that but there is something very important I need to tell you first.”

“What is it?”

“You are wrong about losing her.” As Kaworu spoke a faint smile crossed his lips.

“Huh?” Shinji raised an eyebrow, “What do you mean?”

“You have not lost her. The one you love dearly, she is still alive out there. Her body is weak but her A.T. Field shines as bright as ever.”

“Y-You mean Asuka?” Shinji could hardly believe what he was hearing.

“Yes, I do.”

“Can I see her?” Shinji asked as he looked towards the door hopefully.

Kaworu shook his head, “Unfortunately not at this moment, “Although it is my wish to see the two of your reunited it isn’t possible right now. This tower in which we are in… It does not exist within that physical world. On entering it you left that plane of existence for a new one. Unfortunately neither her or the others can cross that threshold.”

Shinji’s joy at hearing she was alive quickly turned to disappointment, “I see.”

“I apologize if this is a bit much for you. I hope that the knowledge that she is alive is of some help to you though.”

Shinji nodded and took a look around the room before his eyes fell on Kaworu one more time. The boy actually looked fearful for a moment as he locked eyes on Shinji. Shinji recalled what Kaworu had just said about owing Shinji an explanation. He wondered what he should be feeling right now, anger at Kaworu? Sympathy for him? Annoyance? Should he be happy that Kaworu was alive? He didn’t even know what it was he should be asking him.

"Take as much time as you need Shinji." Kaworu reassured him again.

Shinji nodded appreciating those words. It was a little bit too much for him to take in right now, he had only just found out that Asuka was actually alive. His heart felt lightened with that fact but he couldn't exactly bring himself to jump for joy just yet. Not until he actually saw her again. There was also the matter of his father.

His father was still in the tower and he would most likely be looking for Shinji. He had tried to get Shinji to do something, something Shinji now assumed was terrible. He had only been saved at the last minute by some sort of interference but what would have happened if he hadn't have been stopped?

"I'm sorry Kaworu." Shinji finally spoke, "It's a bit... too much for me."

He felt both of Kaworu's hand take one of his own as the boy gave him a warm smile, "I apologize for only adding to that Shinji. Perhaps I could offer some explanation of things and you speak when you need to."

Shinji nodded, "Y-Yeah I think that would be best."

"I would ask as well. Please do not be afraid of being angry with me. I accept that I have done things that have caused yourself and others suffering."

Kaworu's hands tightened around Shinjis as Shinji nodded again, "Thank you."

"As you now know I am not human. My body is merely a constructed vessel made to hold a soul. That soul is the one you know as the First Angel or 'Adam.' Adam was... one of the last of their kind from a civilization that died many years ago. They along with what you call Lilith and many others sought a new world as theirs was dying."

"Y-You mean... they weren't from Earth?"

Kaworu shook his head, "No they weren't their home Is far from here."

"So how did they get here?"

"They constructed giant vessels which was to house themselves and the means of bringing life to a new planet. There were seven of them in total, each one was to populate a different planet and give birth to a new race there." Kaworu replied, "Something went wrong during the journey. I don't know how but two of these vessels landed on the same planet. Adam and Lilith."

"Why wasn't it supposed to happen?"

"Each one was supposed to be an individual source of life, tuned to that particular planet they landed on. Two of them crashing on the same planet caused a conflict as both sources were incompatible with one another. It was Lilith who won this battle and gave birth to the Lilin."

Shinji recognized that term, he had heard Asuka and Kaworu use it in the past, "Y-You mean humans, right?"

Kaworu nodded, "Indeed, although all the life that would be spawned from these seeds would be humanoid. During the uncertain times of conflict between Adam and Lilith some life did flourish and early civilizations were forms. A strange union between Lilith and Adam based lifeforms. It is they who were responsible for the Dead Sea Scrolls and the construction of this tower, it was they who were the roots of the group known as SEELE."

Shinji said nothing but let the boy continue, "Their civilization was all but wiped out but some remained and integrated themselves with the new humans that claimed the Earth. They had lost all that they had and wanted to reclaim it and instill themselves as not only the dominant life form on Earth but something akin to Gods themselves."

"M-My father mentioned something about my mother and SEELE..." Shinji said suddenly.

This received another nod from Kaworu, "SEELE's bloodline is ancient and powerful and your mother is a part of that bloodline. You are as well, this is why you are able to enter this Tower and that is why you are special Shinji."

Shinji's mouth opened in shock but he closed it again as Kaworu carried on speaking.

"Your father heard rumours of this group when he was younger and sought them out thinking he desired power. He met your mother and the two fell in love, many believed it was him using her but..."

"My father loved my mother... didn't he?"

"Yes, he did but it was that love that twisted him into who he is now. Your mother always wanted to stop SEELE and for a time your father was a part of that. He unfortunately did not know the cost of fighting a group like SEELE. Your mother put herself into the vessel known as Eva and your father could not cope with this... he swore to not only put an end to SEELE but to achieve what it was they wanted himself."

"I-I nearly did what he wanted too!" Shinji exclaimed in distress, "I was about to... if it wasn't for.."

Kaworu quickly interjected, "No, do not blame yourself. He had a hold over you, using your recent distress to control you. Your father has... become something, something terrifying, he had reached into a world he should not have done and seen things that... only I thought I had seen."

"S-Seen things?"

"This tower exists outside of your plane of existence. There is a way to get back to your world but it is also a means of viewing other realities. There are many worlds out there Shinji, some of them run parallel to this one, some of them have experiences situations like this, some of them are vastly different to this one." Kaworu explained, "I... I have seen them... I've seen you lose hope a thousand times over, I've seen you find hope, I've seen myself die so many times and felt that pain each time."

It was Shinji's turn to tighten his hand around a distressed sounding Kaworu, "Kaworu... I had no idea."

"I've seen you fall in love Shinji, sometimes it's with Asuka as you have here, sometimes it's with Rei, sometimes the two of them together or sometimes..." Kaworu laughed, "Sometimes it's even with me."

Shinji felt himself blush, "I see..."

"The thing is Shinji that... the use of this tower in the way that your father wants will not just give him power over this reality but those as well. He will be able to reshape them all as he sees fit but... I can't allow him to do that."

"He said he wants to end the pain of suffering that humans feel..."

"To feel pain is to be human Shinji." Kaworu replied, "Without it..."

Shinji nodded, "Without it we're just running away, we may as well be living in a dream, right?"

"Exactly." Kaworu agreed.

"I... don't wish for that to happen. I don't like feeling pain but... if I have to then I must. I don't want to live in a false world it'd just be... wrong." Shinji said, "I want to stop him."

"I was hoping you would say that." Kaworu smiled.

XXX

Mari had not moved from her position next to Rei ever since they had returned to the camp. She didn’t dare move lest something happened to Rei. She wanted to be there for any change at all in Rei’s condition. She was not going to let the girl out of her sight, not for one second.

 _‘I should have never let her pilot the Eva with me!’_ Mari thought to herself,  _‘If I had been firmer or more persuasive then this might not have happened!’_

Deep down Mari knew that wasn’t true, what had happened to Rei was not a result of her piloting the Eva. It was something else entirely and would most likely have happened if Rei had remained on the Wunder.

_‘Yeah but she could have gotten treated faster if she had remained on the Wunder…’_

In a way she knew that wasn’t necessarily true either. Rei could have been anywhere on the Wunder when this had happened. She could have been surrounded by people or in their quarters. Mari had done the best she could and gotten her back quickly. Ritsuko and Sakura had assured her that Rei was going to be fine.

Yet Mari couldn’t silence those voices in her head that continuously asked ‘what if.’ They nagged and pecked at her and were only being made worse with the tiredness and pain she was in from the battle itself.

Rei’s condition right now was stable, she had been sedated as soon as they had returned and Ritsuko was trying to work out just what had happened to her. Unfortunately she had been unable to find anything so far. So Mari remained seated, her hand holding Rei’s and her just waiting and trying to fight the negative voices in her head.

She looked up from Rei’s sleeping face for a brief moment to see Ritsuko was standing at a makeshift analysis areas. An array of wires were scattered around her, some hooked up to a machine monitoring Rei, and others hooked up to a number of special machines she had requested.

“I-Is Blue going to be alright?” Mari’s voice quivered as she spoke. She tried to muster up a weak smile, “J-Just you know… I figure that with the Princess and Puppy out there they might need saving and she could… Blue could…”

Mari trailed off and sniffed. She brought her hand up to her head and let out a loud sob as the exhaustion and emotion took over her. Ritsuko looked on in slight discomfort, this was not really a state she was used to seeing Mari in and not one she really knew how to deal with. Misato was always better at dealing with this sort of thing.

_‘Of course Misato isn’t here and anyone else who is good at this is busy…’_

Ritsuko looked around the small tent, there were two assistants also there to help monitor Rei’s situation. Ritsuko nodded towards the two of them, “You two can leave, it’s been a long day and there isn’t really you can do. Go and have a break and join up with Sakura.”

One of them stepped forward, “We really want to help, in any way we can. It couldn’t feel right abandoning her wh-“

Ritsuko shook her head and cut them off, “Honestly there isn’t anything the two of you can do at this point. Your offer is appreciated but Sakura will likely need the help more than I do. I can handle things here on my own.”

“Okay.” They two quickly exited the tent and shot Mari a sympathetic glance as they did.

When they had finally left Ritsuko let out a sigh and stepped away from her workspace. She wandered over to a small kitchen area and prepared two cups of coffee. It was instance, black and most likely tasted horrible but it was something at least.

She made way over to Mari and tapped the girl on the shoulder. Mari turned and looked up at Ritsuko, her eyes red and puffy with tears falling down her cheeks. She took one of the cups from Ritsuko, “T-Thank you.”

“It might be a good idea if you went and got some rest Mari.” Ritsuko stated as Mari turned her attention back to Rei.

“Is that… an order?” Mari asked.

“If it was an order you’d probably just disobey it.” Ritsuko smirked as she spoke, “Just a recommendation from someone who is worried about you. You’ve had a long day, being in the Eva will have taken a toll.”

“I’m not leaving Rei’s side.” Mari said defiantly, “She’d do the same for me and besides we haven’t heard from the others yet. I can’t rest until I know they’re alright. I’ll… I’ll be fine.”

Ritsuko placed a comforting hand on Mari’s shoulder, “I know you will be… I know…”

“You know you don’t have to try to make me feel better.” Mari smiled weakly, “I know it isn’t really your area.”

Ritsuko nodded, “I’ve never been very good at dealing with people. Cats have always been my thing.”

“You don’t do too bad a job. You helped Maya didn’t you?”

Ritsuko shrugged, “Perhaps. I sometimes think Maya could do a lot better than myself.”

“Are you kidding, she adores you.” Mari laughed, “I know you feel the same for her as well. You’re perfect for each other. Misato always said she saw it back before the Third Impact.”

Ritsuko felt herself blush at Mari’s words, “Misato talks too much.”

Mari sighed and turned to look at Rei, “Is she going to be alright?”

Ritsuko nodded, “As far as her physical condition goes there is nothing wrong with her. There is a high amount of brain activity though.”

“Is that bad?”

“At first it was worrying.” Ritsuko admitted, “It was an alarmingly high amount when we first arrived but it’s since dropped off. It’s a promising sign but a clear indication that something is still happening to her. In addition, I was detecting some spikes in her A.T. Field every now and then.”

“Her A.T. Field?” Mari muttered, “Do you know why?”

Ritsuko shook her head again, “No I don’t. I suspect that proximity to the tower and the large number of Nemesis Series might have proven to be too overwhelming for her to cope with. Rei’s biology is fragile and although I dislike refer to her body as a ‘type’ this particular type has been modified compared to the one I dealt with at NERV.”

“In what way?”

“Something in this body reacts when in proximity to and Angel or Adamite material. We saw that when we first encountered an Angel months ago. I was able to find and suppress it to a point but it might be that what we have encountered here was too much.”

“So could you not just administer higher amounts of the suppressant?”

I’m afraid not, the amount she has been given combined with the existing medication she has to take is enough for her body to handle. To add more might put her at risk.” Ritsuko explained to Mari, “With that said… the Nemesis Series seems to have stopped their attack for the moment and we are quite far from the tower again. Perhaps she just needs to sleep it off.”

“I hope so.” Mari mumbled as she brought the cup up to her lips and sipped the warm liquid. Her face screwed up immediately on her tongue making contact with the liquid, “This tastes like shit.”

Ritsuko smiled and nodded, “I know it does… but it’s all we have right now and I figured you could do with some sort of distraction.”

“Wonderful…” Mari sighed. She did have to admit that Ritsuko’s words had put her a bit more at ease. It seemed like Rei was going to be alright after all. She watched as Ritsuko moved back to the workstation, “Hey Akagi…”

“Yes?”

“I’m… Well I’m sorry if I’ve been a little harsh over the time I’ve known you. I thought you were… Well I guess I didn’t…”

Ritsuko felt a smile come to her lips, “Oh I know exactly what you thought Makinami and you’re not the first person to think it nor will you be the last. I have to accept that in many ways I only have myself to blame for that fact. I hid stuff from people to serve myself but I do appreciate the apology all the same.”

Ritsuko was about to start getting back on with her work again when she heard a faint beeping sound coming from her travel pack. She walked over to the pack shaking her head, “What now?”

She pulled the communications device out of the pack, “Akagi here?”

 _“Ritsuko!”_ Misato’s voice was heard from the device,  _“What is the situation? Is everything alright?”_

Ritsuko smiled on hearing the woman’s voice, “Situation is fine so far, we were able to get everyone away from the Wunder without any issues. We have a few injuries but nothing serious. Sakura is leading the medical team here and we have Maya and Aoba monitoring the situation inside the perimeter.”

_“Anything to report?”_

“So far nothing, Nemesis Series seem to have shut down completely and Rei is stable. What’s the situation out there? Did you find Asuka and Shinji?”

 _“Yes… Well not exactly, Asuka is alive but injured. I’ve got her with me now. As for Shinji he is… he’s inside the tower itself. Apparently Gendo is in there too but we can’t find any way of getting ourselves inside to rescue him. We also…”_ Misato trailed off,  _“We also have another person in here with us. It seems the good Professor Fuyutsuki has had a change of heart and wants to switch sides.”_

Ritsuko frowned and immediately glanced over to Mari. The girl had rose from her seat ever so slightly on hearing that name be spoken. Ritsuko was not able to hide the distain in her voice, “Has he really?”

 _“So he says, look I don’t trust him either but he did help Asuka with her injuries and he also claims to be the one who deactivated the Nemesis Series.”_ Misato paused,  _“He mentioned something… Nebuchadnezzar’s Key, do you know anything about it?”_

“No, I can’t say I do. Unless it was to do with Rei or the Eva’s themselves I never knew about it.” Ritsuko replied, “Ikari kept things on a need to know basis.”

_“Damn, it’s supposedly another artefact. Ikari acquired it sometime before the Third Impact and it’s what he used to access the tower. Fuyutsuki can’t figure out how it was used, he says he could deactivate the Nemesis Series but he reckons if anyone can figure it out it’ll be you.”_

“Is this an idea that you share?”

_“Maybe… If I was going to put a bet on anyone it’d be on you.”_

Ritsuko shot another glance over at Mari who was still listening in on the conversation, “She’s right Akagi… If anyone can figure it out it’ll be you. You already said… you’ve done all you can for Rei. If Shinji is trapped in there with his father we need to save him.”

Ritsuko nodded at Mari, “I’ll prepare a transport. Have Fuyutsuki prepare everything he can on it. I need to know where it was found, who found it, what it is, anything at all no matter how small.”

_“I’ll let him know… Thank you Rits”_

XXX

Shinji remained in the centre of the room and watched as a visibly nervous Kaworu opened the door and peeked out into the corridor beyond. Although in reality Shinji had only known Kaworu for the total of about two to three weeks from his previous time at NERV he felt that the sight of a nervous Kaworu was unusual. He couldn’t really imagine Kaworu being afraid of anything, if anything it would have been Shinji who looked to someone like Kaworu or Asuka when he was afraid.

Yet he supposed that much like Asuka, Kaworu would have his own fears and insecurities. Although he wasn’t human he was very much like them and with that would surely come the same things any human faced.

He waited for Kaworu to be done looking to make sure things were clear. In doing so he caught of a glimpse of himself in a mirror. Despite knowing the seriousness of the situation he wished he could be out of this plugsuit and wearing something more comfortable. He had been in the Eva for hours and out of it for god knows how long. His hair was still sticky with LCL and his face red and blotchy from crying and being ill earlier.

 _‘I need a shower…’_ He thought to himself, it was a strangely inappropriate thought he realized but he couldn’t help but think it.

He heard Kaworu close the door and his attention turned once more to his silver haired friend, “It is safe for us to go now Shinji. Are you ready?”

“Yeah.” Shinji gave a confident nod and took a single step forward. He approached Kaworu and the door before stopping, “Kaworu I just… I wanted to say thank you. Thank you for when we were at NERV for being there for me and also… I really enjoyed looking at the stars and playing piano with you.”

Kaworu’s face seemed to light up on hearing Shinji mention the piano, “You are most welcome Shinji. Tell me, do you still play?”

Shinji shook his head, “Er… No I don’t… not since I left… I haven’t really had the chance to on the Wunder and even if I did I… Well it would have felt wrong somehow considering what happened.”

Kaworu took both of Shinji’s hands into his own, “You should continue Shinji even if those prior memories do remind you of sad times. Use those memories and emotions and channel them into wonderful compositions from your heart. Music is human expression at its finest, a means to channel oneself into notes and create something beautiful. I think of it as one of the pinnacles of human achievement.”

Shinji laughed at Kaworu’s passion, “I think you would get on with Mari. She is really passionate about music too. She talks a lot about what she likes and plays it for everyone.”

“Perhaps…” Kaworu looked away for a brief moment and Shinji recognized a flicker of sadness in his eyes, “If it was possible then I should like to meet them all.”

Shinji placed his hand on his shoulder and smiled, “When this is over Kaworu, you will.”

“I hope so Shinji.” Kaworu looked back towards the door, “We must go now, I do not know how much time we have.”

Kaworu opened the door and the two of them stepped out into an unfamiliar corridor. Kaworu took a look around and frowned, “It has been altered once again. I believe we should be fine though, after all together we are capable of doing this.”

Shinji nodded and started to follow Kaworu, “What do you mean by altered Kaworu?”

Kaworu explained as he led Shinji through a maze of small corridors. Shinji observed the doors they were passing as they moved from corridor to corridor. It all looked the same to him but Kaworu seemed to know exactly where he was going, “As I mentioned before this tower exists in a plane beyond what you call reality. It is a construct of sorts that bends to the will of those who made it and those who inhabit it. As such the structure is not a static one. It can alter its shape although the changes are not usually as drastic as the ones I am sensing now. We are in no danger but it might slow us down somewhat.”

“Oh…” Shinji said still not fully understanding what Kaworu had said. It all seemed a bit too weird even for someone used to piloting a giant bio-mechanical being against equal sized monsters.

“Think of it like something from a dream where what you see might change of alter around you to create something new. You might not notice the change until after they happen.”

Shinji could only nod as they moved along further sets of corridors and passed more doorways. There was a familiarity to the structure now. The walls were a light green with a pink strip running along them. The doors themselves automated sliding doors.

“It looks like NERV used to.”

Kaworu nodded, “Yes, it is not surprising that this is the form the tower takes for this moment. It reflects something personal to those inside, NERV is the one thing we all share.”

Eventually they came to a large set of double doors and along with them came the confirmation that this was indeed supposed to be NERV. The half fig-leaf logo synonymous with the organization had been painted across the door. Kaworu pushed the door open revealing a spiral staircase leading upwards, Shinji followed Kaworu carefully up the staircase.

“You were at the Third Impact weren’t you?” Shinji suddenly asked.

“Yes I was.” Kaworu admitted, “I was sent to stop Unit 01 from awakening completely. It was I who threw the Spear of Longinus into Unit 01 and halted the Third Impact from happening.”

Much like the admittance earlier of Kaworu’s intentions, Shinji had been expecting such an answer from him. He again wasn’t angry but instead felt some relief as those little bits of truth were finally known to him.

“W-Why didn’t you tell me?” Shinji asked, “Back at NERV I mean… I thought…”

Kaworu suddenly came to a stop on the staircase and turned himself around to face Shinji. He opened his mouth as if to give a reply but closed it again before looking down regretfully. After some time he looked up at Shinji.

“I… I can only apologize to you Shinji.” Kaworu muttered, “It was my intention to tell you the truth after we had recovered the Spears. I had intended to tell you the entire truth but not until after that. I thought that by keeping that knowledge from you it might make you more determined to help me.”

“It’s alright… I forgive you Kaworu.” Shinji put a hand on Kaworu’s shoulder. He couldn’t bring himself to be angry at Kaworu. Just as he hadn’t been able to be angry with Misato previously.

“I do not deserve your forgiveness Shinji but I am thankful for it all the same.” Kaworu responded, “However I feel that should I meet Asuka she will not be quite as forgiving as you.”

Shinji laughed, “No, she probably won’t be.”

“Allow her to be, I will not run from her and accept whatever she has to say. My actions nearly cost you your life and your world.”

“Kaworu… It’s alright.” Shinji reassured him again, “My actions fourteen years ago nearly cost everyone the world. If you hadn’t have stopped me… It would have done… I just don’t understand why you were there or what happened.”

“It was SEELEs doing. They suspected your father was working against them and wanted me to report and hopefully stop him from hindering their own plans. My own fate was… an unpleasant one, one which I have seen many times over.”

“Kaworu…”

“Of course Unit 01 awakening changed that. It changed the structure of what was Lilith and prolonged my existence beyond SEELE’s scenario. Of course I had seen my fate in other worlds so I had plans of my own.”

The two of them started walking, “I did not wish for the destruction and rebirth of SEELE as gods nor did I wish for the world as your father saw it. I wish for what you wished for, this world to continue. Although back then I was led to believe that perhaps I could reset things for you. Send you back with prior knowledge and avert the catastrophes…”

“So that is why we pulled the Spears…”

“Indeed. Fourteen years ago your father engineered the awakening of Unit 01. He used both yourself and Rei Ayanami as chess pieces in a game against SEELE. He created Ayanami and made her aware of who she was and of her replaceable nature. She was put into a position where she could grow close to you and wish to protect you, a position where she would willingly sacrifice herself.”

“You mean me meeting Rei… Was because he wanted me to?” Shinji said angrily.

“Yes, by doing that and having Rei sacrifice herself he knew you could push Unit 01 to awaken and he knew it would force SEELEs hand and reveal their agent to him. Their agent of course was me.”

“So you stopped Unit 01 from awakening.”

“I did but that was only the beginning. With the awakening and my halting of it your father had awakened the remnants of the old civilization. That which we call the Nemesis Series.”

“Awakened the Nemesis Series? What exactly are they?” Shinji asked.

“A self-replication system that was designed to prevent the dominant race on this planet from doing what your father is about to do. They were built to awaken when something like Unit 01 awakening happened and deal with it. It was they who sealed Unit 01 inside the Tesseract and hid you and it away for fourteen years. It was their emergence that caused the many changes to the world.”

“So Third Impact really wasn’t because of me then…” Shinji said with some relief.

“No it was not Shinji.” Kaworu stated, “Again I apologize that my previous words led you to believe that. I suppose in that way I am no better than SEELE or your father. I attempted to use you to satisfy my own goals. I said I did it in the name of your happiness but…”

“Kaworu…” Shinji started to speak but quickly trailed off at the realization that they had reached the top of the spiral staircase. Before them was a large metallic door with a card reader to one side. Shinji recognized it as being from the doorway that held the being known as Lilith back in NERV.

“We have arrived.” Kaworu said his voice shaking, “How apt that it this is where we end up. The same place that I have witnessed countless times before, heaven’s door and beyond this is where the beginning of the end always starts…”

Kaworu took a single step forward but just as he did the entire tower shook knocking both of them off of their feet. Kaworu quickly scrambled to his feet and looked up towards the ceiling, his eyes seemed to be tracking something but whatever it was Shinji did not know. Finally a smile crept onto Kaworu’s face.

“I see! So you have awakened once again!” Kaworu turned to face Shinji and extended a hand to help Shinji back up onto his feet, “Come Shinji, it seems that we have a visitor for our journey.”

XXX

Asuka had had enough of sitting down and doing nothing. Her Eva was out of commission and all she had for company right now was her own pain and frustration. She would have even jumped at the chance to take Unit 02 out on patrol if it was even functional anymore. She needed some sort of distracton, anything to take her mind off of what might be happening to Shinji right now.

_'We need to get inside there, I can't believe I let him go alone, what the hell was I thinking?'_

She leaned her head back against the side of the craft,  _'I thought I was going to die, I was prepared to die and one of us had to get inside. If anyone was going to save the world it'd be him. I'm not the person who saves the world, I'm just the soldier who plays their part.'_

Asuka slowly and gingerly got to her feet. A wave of dizziness hit her and she had to lean against the craft for a moment to steady herself. She took a few careful steps away from the craft and felt the soft ground beneath her plugsuit clad feet. She didn't stray too far from the craft, instead choosing to remain inside the small cavern that held the entrance to the tower.

From her position she could look out across a small selection of the battlefield. All was so very calm and still, a vast difference to the chaos she had been within just over an hour ago.

"Ritsuko'll figure it out." Asuka heard Misato's voice from behind her, "And we will get inside and save him."

Asuka turned herself around to see Misato stood in the doorway of the craft. She couldn't help but feel a slight twinge of irritation at Misato's optimistic words. It had been over an hour since Shinji had gone inside the tower and no one had heard anything. No one had any idea what could have happened to him in that time and they didn't seem any closer to getting inside.

"When?" Asuka asked bitterly.

"I... I don't know Asuka but she will." Misato tried to be reassuring, "He'll be alright, you'll save him."

"We should have gotten in there ages ago!" Asuka kicked the ground as she spoke, "Instead we're just wasting time with this stupid Key. Why don't we just blow the damn entrance up and rush in there."

"Fuyutsuki said doing that won't work, the only way inside is with the key." Misato replied.

"And you trust him?"

"No... Yes..." Misato let out a sigh, "I don't know any more Asuka. If he was trying to mislead us then why go through all of this? Why tell us what he did? Why leak that information to us? Why go to the effort of patching you up?"

"Great, remind me of my humiliation today! How wonderful! Bad enough that I got torn apart by those things but for him to be the one to save my life... pathetic." Asuka snarled.

"Don't say that Asuka, I..." Misato shook her head, "I know you dislike what happened but you're here and you're alive, that's what's important."

"I know!" Asuka retorted, "I'm... I don't want to die Misato but it doesn't make that any less humiliating. I'd rather have had Mari administer treatment."

Misato smirked, "I can just imagine what sort of treatment she'd administer to you with your history."

"Is that really appropriate?"

Misato shook her head, "No, I guess not. Sorry."

Asuka looked at her and shook her own head, "It's fine, I'm just... very angry right now and I'm..."

She paused and looked away from Misato, "Urgh, I'm scared... I can't lose Shinji and I can't just sit around and do nothing!"

"I hate it too." Misato stepped away from the craft and took a few steps towards Asuka, "I want him back too and I hate not being able to do anything. All I can do is hope that they can figure things out. If not then I need to come up with a Plan B."

She stopped close to Asuka and reached out with a hand towards the girl's shoulder. She stopped about halfway wondering if she really deserved to be the one to comfort Asuka. Her hand finally made its way to Asuka's shoulder and squeezed it gently.

No words were exchanged as the two of them looked out towards the wasteland. As far as the two of them could see were the scattered remains of the Nemesis Series and parts of the shattered AAA Vessels.

Misato felt a peculiar numbness as she tried to process the loss of the AAA Wunder and the numerous lives lost with the AAA Thunderchild. She wanted to feel something for it but it was just too big a loss and hadn't properly sunk in yet. The Thunderchild had barely just launched, it carried a crew of a couple of hundred on board and was supposed to have been a symbol of hope. Yet it had been brought down so easily by that monster.

As for the Wunder, that had been in full operation for just under a year but it's history was longer than that. Misato and the others had used the Wunder as their home for a number of years and now it was all gone. She only hoped that Ritsuko had at least been able to save both the cat and the fish before the craft had gone down.

She shot a glance at Asuka, "I know you don't think much of me right now Asuka so it's probably pointless asking this but... did I do the right thing?"

"Worlds still here isn't it?" Asuka remarked, "Maybe you could have communicated to us a bit better, not lied to me and not treated Shinji like shit for months but... I guess somehow you managed to do the right thing in the end."

Misato said nothing as Asuka looked down at the ground, "It's not like I didn't make any mistakes though... I'm hardly an endorsement for treating people right."

"We've all made terrible mistakes Asuka..." Misato mused, "I've managed to lose an entire ship now... I can't imagine the higher ups will be too happy about it."

Asuka shrugged, "They could always build another one. Probably loads more stuff buried around the world, plenty of German words left to pick a name from too."

"That's true, I guess we ca-"

Misato was suddenly cut off by the ground violently shaking and the sound of a loud scream from outside of the cavern. She watched as Asuka fell forward. Misato quickly dived forward catching the girl in her arms before she fell to the floor. Asuka let out a grunt of pain as the two of them looked ahead and saw that the sky had turned a deep blood red.

"Misato! Maya has just been in contact!" Ritsuko and Fuyutsuki had now joined them outside the craft, "Something is happening out there! It's Unit 01!"

Misato looked at her in horror, "Unit 01? I thought that went down with the Wunder!"

No further words were exchanged as the four of them quickly made their way to the entrance of the cavern. Pure fear spread across each of their faces as true to what Ritsuko had said, Unit 01 was stood twenty metres or so away from the tower.

It was a terrifying sight to behold. It's eyes thin slits of bright white light. A thin halo of light had appeared above it and further above that was a wide black tear in the blood red sky. It was mostly motionless but Misato could see that the Unit's jaw had become somewhat unhinged.

"It's... awakened..." Asuka muttered.

"B-But how?" Ritsuko asked, "There is no pilot and... unless... Rei."

Fuyutsuki looked up at the widening tear before each of their attention was drawn towards the outer edges of the battlefield. Nothing beyond where the A.T. Field had been was visible, instead the outer world had been obscured by a blood red fog.

Further high-pitched screams were heard and the group looked towards the source of the noise. Around the perimeter four ghostly white figures had appeared, each one dwarfing Unit 01 in size. Misato's eyes widened with fear as she gazed from figure to figure. Each one was identical, nightmarish wearing a halo of their own. The figures had no defining features only blood red holes where their eyes would be and a similar style hole in the middle of their chest.

Misato shook her head, "No... it's... it’s the same... it's happening all over again."

"Katsuragi."

"Huh?" Misato's attention was immediately drawn to the source of the new voice. She looked away from the figures and in front of her to see a handsome and roguish looking man looking back at her. His hair in a ponytail, a scruffy mess of facial hair on his face and as always, a smile, "It'll be alright Katsuragi."

"Kaji..."

Misato stepped forward towards him and felt only warmth as a bright light overcame her.

The other three were still drawn towards the figures in the sky. Ritsuko couldn’t believe what was happening, after all their efforts this had happened anyway.

"Ritsuko."

"Maya?" Ritsuko looked down to see Maya standing in front of her.

"Thank you... For saving me Ritsuko."

Ritsuko took a step forward and the light took her too.

Now only Fuyutsuki and Asuka remained. They had witnessed the others vanish but did not know why. Asuka was about to speak when she heard Shinji's voice call out to her.

"S-Shinji..."

"Asuka... I'm here."

Asuka shook her head, "No... No! You're not. You're not here. You..."

The Shinji in front of her extended a single hand towards her and nodded, "He needs you Asuka. Save him."

Asuka swallowed and nodded before stepping forward herself. She didn't know what was about to happen or why it was happening but she felt like she could trust this bizarre vision of Shinji.

Fuyutsuki looked on as Asuka now vanished and he nodded, wondering what fate awaited him.

"The beginning of the end is here. The fate of our world is in their hands." Fuyutsuki looked ahead and saw Yui Ikari staring back at him, "I wonder... If it was really worth it for you Ikari."

XXX

“FATHER!” Shinji called out the moment both he and Kaworu had entered the large chamber. There he was, stood on the opposite side of the room. Standing in front of a large cross like structure with his arms hanging down by his side. To his father’s left was what appeared to be the seat and cockpit from the inside of an Eva.

Gendo Ikari did not respond to Shinji’s shout. He seemed to follow the two of them as they entered the room but his attention actually turned towards Kaworu. He looked directly at Kaworu with a look that frightened Shinji, whatever humanity he might have sensed within his father had now completely gone.

“Father!” Shinji called out again and stepped in front of Kaworu, “Stop this… It… It isn’t right!”

“I presume that you told him then.” Gendo once again ignored Shinji and spoke directly to Kaworu. Shinji looked behind him to see Kaworu’s eyes had narrowed and were focused angrily on his father.

“He deserved to know the truth before you could force him into a decision he would regret.” Kaworu replied, “It is not too late for you either.”

Gendo seemed to chuckle at that response, “The regret would be allowing humanity to continue with this existence. I merely offered him an out from that.”

“An out?” Shinji exclaimed, “No! This is wrong! Father… Mother is gone, going through all of this just to see her again… it isn’t worth it. We have to accept that. I did years ago… We can still be happy.”

“Quiet!” Gendo said sternly, “You have been tainted by his way of thinking. The misguided belief that hope still lives out there in this world. The belief that pain is something humans must experience to achieve true happiness. It is nothing more than a fallacy.”

“I’m not misguided!” Shinji answered back, “I don’t like feeling pain… I don’t like knowing that mother is gone, I don’t like seeing my friends hurt and I don’t like being hurt. I’m scared of being hurt but… I don’t want to eliminate that either. Even if it would bring her back I… I don’t want that.”

“You would rather suffer? You would rather condemn your friends to a life of suffering. Look around you Shinji, this world is no longer fit for purpose!” Gendo shot back, “From the moment you were born all you did was suffer. You were brought into a dying world and left to fend for yourself.”

Shinji shook his head, “That wasn’t the fault of this world! You were the one who abandoned me! You lost mother and were afraid of me!”

Gendo remained silent as Shinji continued, “You were a coward! I didn’t suffer because of this world. The reason I suffered was because of you!”

“Your mother was…”

“My mother is dead!” Shinji yelled back, “And you stood by and did nothing except try to get her back and create some perfect world you could run away to!”

Shinji felt anger rising up inside him, “What you want is… It’s empty! The pain I felt… It wasn’t pleasant or fun but it helped make me a better person. Without it I wouldn’t have tried to understand others, I wouldn’t have made friends, I wouldn’t have fallen in love and knowing what I went through makes the good parts of it even better. I don’t want to run away anymore!”

“Stop this!” Gendo shouted back, “Your words are meaningless, just like that of the being behind you. You have allowed yourself to become corrupted by this world but no more. You cannot end what has already started. I will have my world whether by your consent or not and I will have Yui return to me.”

Kaworu stepped forward but just as he did Gendo brought one of his hands up revealing a pistol. He aimed it directly at Kaworu.

“Father!” Shinji cried out, “What are you doing?”

“I’m giving you a choice.” Gendo explained calmly, “I had hoped that it would not come to this but my hand has been forced. Come to me and enter the seat, return Yui to me and give me what I want or you can witness your friend die.”

“K-Kaworu…” Shinji called out as he watched Kaworu walk forward.

Kaworu turned to face Shinji and smiled, “Do not do what he asks Shinji. I do not fear death, I’ve witnessed my own so many times already and experienced that pain a thousand times over. This will be a release for me. Remember… I am not human, I have no place on this world. I am here because I am trapped but death might actually be the freedom I desire.”

“N-No… You can’t.” Shinji cried out.

Gendo raised the gun higher aiming it at Kaworu as the boy continued to walk across the distance towards Shinji’s father. Shinji felt his legs tremble as he tried to force himself to walk forward. Kaworu took one more step and then Shinji felt the entire tower shake once again. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. He heard the sound of the gun ring out and Kaworu fall to the floor. He dashed forward and leapt to try and catch the boy in his arms.

“KAWORU!”

Shinji felt a stinging pain in his knees as he landed hard on them catching Kaworu just before he could fall. He looked down at Kaworu and saw a bloody stain on the boys shoulder, Kaworu grimaced in pain as he looked up into Shinji’s eyes.

“Kaworu…” Shinji felt something wet on his hand and he pulled his hand away and saw the red liquid from where Kaworu had been wounded. He looked towards his father who had now dropped the gun and was staring up towards the ceiling.

“Yui… You have returned!”

Those were the last words Shinji heard before he let out a scream and a white light engulfed him once again.


	34. The Living Years

_"The white zone is for loading and unloading only. If you have to load or unload go to the white zone."_

This strange announcement was the first that that Shinji heard echo all around him as he wandered through a large open space. It appeared to be some sort of airport terminal, to one side of him were rows of unoccupied seats and beyond those a window that looked out to an empty run away. To the opposite side of him were store fronts but each one with their shutters down at this moment in time.

“Where… am I?” He asked aloud, his voice echoing through the empty lounge.

There was of course no reply to his question. Shinji finally came to a stop to look at an information board overhead. It told him that he was in a departure lounge but for which airport he had no idea. He had no idea how he had even gotten here. Shinji had never flown by plane or been in an airport before, any travelling that he had done before the Wunder had been by train or by car.

He walked over to the large glass window overlooking the runaway. Much like the departure lounge the space outside was also bereft of any activity. There were a couple of planes he could see, a few sets of steps leading up to the doors of the planes and some vehicles used for transporting luggage or for refueling but no people whatsoever.

 _‘Where is everyone?’_ Shinji thought to himself as feelings of panic started to set in. Panic accompanied by slight annoyance. He was getting fed up of waking up in new places like this without any information. He was convinced that this wasn’t a dream but if it wasn’t then even by the standards of what he had already encountered it was a bizarre location to be in.

His second thought that maybe this was another part of the tower. Kaworu had told him that it was possible for the tower to alter its form but then why would it pick this form? Also if he was still in the tower then where was everyone else? Where was his father? Where was Kaworu?

“Kaworu!” Shinji exclaimed and spun around as more feelings of dread rushed through him. He felt his body start to sweat as he thought of Kaworu. The last time he had seen Kaworu the boy had been lying in Shinji’s arms and bleeding from where he had been shot. Now Kaworu was absolutely nowhere to be seen.

“I have to find him!” Shinji said as he walked away from the window and back to the information board. Maybe he could find some sort of map or even someone else if he went to another part of the terminal.

“Your friend is fine Shinji.” Shinji froze up immediately at hearing the woman’s soft voice from behind him. He slowly turned around to face the source of the sound. Standing at the entrance to the lounge was a woman with short dark brown hair, she was wearing a lab coat and smiling at Shinji.

Shinji’s knees started to tremble as he slowly recognized who she was, “M-Mother…?”

Shinji felt his eyes start to tear up as his mother, Yui Ikari simply nodded her head. He slowly walked towards her as if in some sort of trance. A few steps away he reached out with a shaking hand and placed it on her shoulder. She was real and she was standing close to him.

“Y-You’re real…” He muttered, “Y-You’re really here…”

“Yes… I am.” She replied as he walked forward and she wrapped her arms around him tightly pulling him close to her.

“I’ve missed you so much Shinji.” She whispered to him as she ran her hand through his hair and hugged him, “You’ve… You’ve grown so much. I’m so proud of you.”

“Mother…” Shinji didn’t know what to say as he raised his arms up and put them around her. He felt his tears trickle slowly down his cheeks as words finally started to come, “I… I’ve missed you too…”

Neither of them moved for a couple of minutes as the reunited mother and son shared a warm embrace after not having seen each other for so long. Finally Yui released him from the hug and gently took hold of his hand. She guided him towards one of the seats and the two of them sat and looked out over the tarmac runway.

She looked to be in thought for a few moments before turning to him, “I… I suppose I owe you an explanation don’t I Shinji? About me… About all of this and what is happening right now… About what happened to me so many years ago and about what is happening to your friends?”

Shinji wiped a tear from his eye, “Are they alright?”

Yui nodded, “They are fine but… it will not be possible for you to see them just yet.”

“Why not?”

“Because we have no entered the process of Instrumentality. Your friends are currently on a journey of their own, much like you are but… you will be reunited with them. It will come after we have ended this unification of souls.”

“Unification… Instrumentality? Did… Did I fail?”

“Not at all.” Yui smiled and shook her head, “The process might have begun but it has been contained to the space around the tower. If… If anyone failed Shinji it was me, I had hoped that it would not come to this at all but it seems it was unavoidable and I have only myself to blame.”

“How? You were… You were in Unit 01 weren’t you?”

She nodded, “By becoming the control system for Evangelion Unit 01 it was my hope that myself and you could be put into a position that we could avoid this fate for mankind. My intention was to stop SEELE, to use Evangelion Unit 01 to halt their plan but I failed to talk many things into account.”

“You mean father don’t you?” Shinji asked.

For a moment his mother looked angry at the mention of his father but her expression softened quickly, “Yes, I do. I did not anticipate the toll my leaving would take on him. I did not know he would go on such a crusade. I’m truly sorry for that Shinji… I didn’t know he would act in the way that he did. I thought… he was a better man than that.”

“Why didn’t you tell him?” Shinji asked, “About what you were planning to do?”

“I couldn’t… I knew he would try to stop me in some way but it was the only way to stop SEELE. If they had gotten their candidates into Unit 01 we would not have control over it and would be powerless to stop them.” Yui explained, “It wasn’t an easy decision so I thought it would be best to make it look like I was pulled in by an accident. I knew they would try to extract me but I thought after a failed attempt they would not try again.”

“You left us…”

“I regret the way I handled it. Those things that happened to you and everyone else, I have to take responsibility for it.” Yui let out a sigh, “My hopes and regrets are irrelevant right now though. Your sister has already told me this.”

“Rei?” Shinji looked up in surprise and with a look of happiness, “You spoke to Rei?”

Yui nodded, “Yes, Rei… helped me awaken Unit 01. It was the only way I could get through to you and hopefully control the tower. Unfortunately I was unable to halt the process of unification. I was able to restrict it to only the area around the tower but… that is why you are here now?”

“Unification?” Shinji asked.

“Yes, SEELE also called it the Instrumentality of Mankind. It is the merging of all human souls into one being, one consciousness. We lose our form and become on entity, each being capable of living their ideal lives within without pain or sorrow. Except SEELE did not desire the rest of humanity for this, they wanted the process for only themselves with the rest of humanity being denied access to their paradise.”

“What would happen to everyone else?”

“Everyone else would cease to exist and the members of SEELE would be reborn as a being within the bodies of the Eva Series as a perfect being.”

Shinji’s eyes widened with shock, “They… were going to destroy everything?”

She nodded, “As you know now we are related to one of the council members Shinji. I knew of them and their plans for some time. I couldn’t let them go through with it. SEELE saw humanity as a stagnating series and themselves as the ones with the potential to push it forward. I saw humanity as a species with endless potential. We might not be perfect, we might have conflicts and wars and times where things seem doomed but… we would overcome that.”

“W-What about father?”

Again there was a flash of anger on her face at the mention of Shinji’s father but she let out a sigh and the look changed to sadness. Shinji couldn’t help but feel bad for asking the question, “Your father wasn’t… a bad person Shinji. I know that is hard for you to believe right now but he wasn’t. He was just… misunderstood when he was younger.”

Shinji cut her off, “Whatever he was then he isn’t now… You know that.”

Yui almost cringed to hear the anger and bitterness in Shinji’s voice, “I know Shinji and I’m so sorry. How he ended up… is my fault.”

“No! It isn’t!” Shinji raised his voice, “You… He did that to himself! He made all of those choices himself because he couldn’t face the truth! He was a coward and you… You just… You abandoned us.”

She cringed as Shinji’s words stung her. She saw his expression change immediately to shock as he realized what he had said.

“I’m sorry!” He exclaimed, “I… I didn’t mean…”

“No… You’re right Shinji.” She stopped him, “I did abandon you and him. I have no right to call myself your mother. I just… I wish I could make it up to you.”

“He wanted to get you back… but how?” Shinji’s voice was barely above a whisper.

“His plan… He wasn’t willing to sacrifice humanity in the same way SEELE were but he wanted complete Unification but he would be the one at the front. Except… something different happened. He didn’t just want Instrumantality for this world but for the many others that exist. He wanted to reach through the barrier and shape a new world in his image… he… he nearly succeeded.”

“But you said the Unification had started?”

“It has.” Yui confirmed, “But it has been restricted to only a small area thanks to Unit 01 and it is in a state of uncertainty before of you. Your father is out there right now like your friends are. Living a life and exploring their dreams and possibilities. They wait for a decision to be made.”

“Yes, your decision Shinji.” Yui answered, “Will you set these people free? Let them return to the world as it was or will you allow this to continue and swallow the world. Will you let everyone experience this unification and become one being?”

Shinji looked down at his hands and clenched and unclenched them nervously. It sounded so absurd that he alone had this power at his fingertips. For a moment it sounded appealing, he had been hurt so much over the years that the idea of never having to experience that again was tempting. Same went for all his friends.

Finally thought he shook his head, “No… I don’t want that to happen. I don’t like pain and sadness but it’s what makes us human right? If we get away from that then we’re nothing. It’d just be like a good dream, it might be pleasant whilst we’re in there but in the end, it isn’t real. It’s just a fantasy.”

“So, you’ve already made your decision?” Yui asked him as she took his hand.

“Yes.” Shinji confirmed, “What my father wants… What SEELE wanted isn’t right. I might get hurt outside of this but at least my feelings will be real. Here they’ll just be what I want and they’ll be nothing more or less. I don’t want that.”

“Good, I’m proud of you.” Yui suddenly stood up and Shinji rose alongside her. She hugged him again before saying, “Let me show you something first Shinji.”

At that exact moment in time a sound was heard from within the terminal. A woman’s voice came over a loudspeaker.

_“Passengers for Flight 1701 are now able to board. Please make your way to the aircraft. Remember that the white zone is for loading and unloading only. If you need to load or unload, go to the white zone.”_

Shinji looked towards the end of the lounge and saw that one of the entranceways had now opened. He walked alongside his mother towards it as she smiled at him.

“What’s going on? Where are we going?” He asked her in confusion. His mother had just asked him about what his decision was and he had made it, so what else was there for him to do? Was this a part of that or was it something else?

“When this is done Shinji… You won’t be able to see me again.” Yui said, her voice tinged with sadness, “I will miss you but before that I want to show you something. I want to show you the others, the worlds that still have gone on and still have hope. The proof that you have made the right decision. I also… Well I wish to spend time with you and see you happy.”

“Mother…”

“Remember above all else Shinji, I love you.”

“I love you too.”

The two of them walked through into a small corridor and before Shinji knew it they were stepping onto an aircraft. As they moved down the aisle of the aircraft towards what he presumed were their seats Shinji could see a number of them were already occupied. Most of the people he didn’t recognize but every now and then there was a familiar face he had seen from the Wunder.

“What is this?” He asked her as they sat down and his mother put his seatbelt on properly.

She simply smiled at him as he heard the engines fire up and a bright white light spread through the cabin of the aircraft.

XXX

"Hey Mom! I'm home!" Mari called out as she entered the front door of her house. The first thing she heard was the TV on in the front room, there was the familiar sound of a clock ticking down followed by the same jingle she heard every time she got in from school.

Moments later her mother's voice was heard calling from the kitchen, "Hey Mari! Welcome home, don't forget to wipe your feet!"

Mari had already taken severel steps into the passageway by the time her mother had called out. She looked down at her shoes noticing the mud around them.

_'Oops...'_

She shuffled back to the front door and wiped her feet a couple of times before deciding to take off her shoes. She kicked them off leaving them on the mat trying to not get any mud on her socks. She had no idea how the mud could even have gotten there. She supposed that school shoes were mysterious in that way, they were like magnets for mud.

It wasn't as if she had walked across the fields to get home this time either. She had stuck to the path just as she had been told to, lfest she hear the same speech about having muddy shoes for the fifth time this month.

She made her way into the kitchen and the smell of a beef casseole filled her nostrils. Her mother turned and smiled at her before glancing down at Mari's trousers and giving her a disapproving look, "Mud on your trousers again! How many times do I have to tell you?"

Mari simply grinned and shrugged, "I'm sorry! It just happens! I can't help it, I am careful!"

"Maybe if you changed them when you wanted to play football at lunchtime It wouldn't happen!" Her mother sighed and walked over to the sink pulling a clean cloth out for Mari. She ran it under the tap for a few seconds before throwing it towards Mari.

Mari nimble caught the cloth, "I'd love to do that but you know how that school can be with its uniform policy. Need to represent at all times or some rubbish like that."

Her mother sighed again, "Yeah I know... Just be careful."

"Yeah yeah I will!" Mari grabbed herself a few sheets of kitchen towel and sat herself down at the table and placed the towel around her foot. She started to wipe away some of the mud that she was able to from her trousers.

"So how was school anyway?" Her mother asked as she went back over to the oven.

"The usual." Mari replied, "Plenty of talking about exams and the future as usual. Trying to prepare us for what's to come. We did more anthology work in English, some World War 1 poetry this time."

"And how was that?"

"It was alright. Mr Porter at least managed to make it interesting. I can't imagine the other teachers being able to do that." Mari smiled as she continued to wipe away the first, "Oh! We got a new student in my class today as well. Rei Ikari, she just moved over here from Japan."

"Ikari..." Her mother seemed to think for a few moments, "Oh! Yui's daughter!"

"Yui?"

Her mother nodded, "Yeah Yui Ikari! She just transferred to our lab from the Japanese division. She'll be staying with us for a year to oversee a few important tests. Her husband Gendo is in charge of the Japanese branch."

Mari nodded as a strange feeling went through her at the mention of those names. Something about them seemed familiar, as if she had heard them before.

"They have a son too actually."

 _'Shinji!'_ The name flew through Mari's mind without warning and sure enough the next few words to come out of her mother's mouth confirmed it.

"I think his name is Shinji. They're twins but Shinji will be staying with his father back in Japan."

Mari felt a wave of dizziness rush over her suddenly she shook her head and it was immediately gone. Something felt weird about hearing that series of names but she couldn't quite place it. It was as if she had heard them before but that couldn't have been possibly. She had only met Rei today and hadn't really spoken to her.

"So, what is she like?"

Mari was snapped from her thoughts by her mother's question, "Oh, she seems nice! She's quite shy and soft spoken but I suppose moving to a new country and getting used to it all will leave you like that. She speaks English really well too. I was a little bit surprised."

 _'She is also absolutely gorgeous...'_ Mari thought to herself with a little bit of a blush. She figured she could probably leave that part out of describing Rei to her mother.

"Well I hope she settles in well, it can't be easy to move to somewhere like this but I'm sure you'll be there to help her out." Mari's mother replied.

"Yeah! I will." Mari nodded enthusiastically, "Anyway, I'm going upstairs to get changed. Shout me down when tea is ready!"

Mari didn't hear her mother's reply as she left the kitchen. Her thoughts were instead occupied by Rei Ikari. Another name had come into her mind in that moment, Ayanami but she didn't know where it had come from. All she knew was that there was something about those people that seemed strange familiar and even unsettling.

XXX

Asuka stepped through the front door of the apartment and called out, "I'm home!"

She kicked off her shoes, leaving them untidily arranged with the other sets that were by the door and heard the call of her mother from the front room, "Welcome home!"

Asuka stepped through into the front room and took a look around. Sat at the dining table, a large number of papers scattered around her was her mother. Asuka rolled her eyes and smiled, this was not a completely unfamiliar scene. It may have been her mother's day off but she somehow always found a way to work somehow.

"Busy day?" Asuka asked.

"Something like that." Kyoko replied with a sigh, "Supposed to be my day off but of course the lab had to send over all this paperwork for me to go through."

"Could someone else not have done it?"

"Like hell, these are my tests!" Kyoko said sharply, "I'm not letting someone else touch my stuff. Of course, this had to happen when I'm not at the lab!"

Asuka shrugged, "So why not just go in."

"Are you stupid? It's my day off of course!" Kyoko exclaimed, "My days off are for me to be here at home and to see you when you get in. I spent enough time there."

"I wouldn't mind." Asuka said, "Your works important, isn't it?"

"Not as important as you are Asuka. I made a promise that I'd always be there for you when you were born and I intend to keep it."

Asuka grinned, "So what was it that couldn't wait?"

"Just the usual world changing stuff that is to be expected from me." Kyoko grinned back.

Asuka threw herself down on the couch and laughed at her mother's boasting. She switched the TV on and stretched out, "World changing eh? So, are you going to tell me?"

"It's nothing to get too exciting about just yet but we think we got some positive results back from one fo the samples I put together." Kyoko started to explain, "We're been studying some unique organic materials at the lab and we were able to extract a liquid from them. I build a specialized chamber and flooded it with the liquid. We placed a damaged tissue sample in there and it looks like the thing has managed to regenerate somehow."

Asuka felt a strange feeling of dread at hearing her mother's explanation. She blinked and the image of a large chamber appeared, there was a person lying in a tank surrounded by a peculiar and strong-smelling orange liquid.

Beyond the chamber was a large window and she could see the forms of some very concerned looking people. She didn't recognize any of them. She blinked again and the image was gone and her mother was waiting for her reply.

"So... Could this be used on people?" Asuka wasn't sure why she had asked that of all questions but her vision had made an impact.

Kyoko shrugged, "Maybe... Don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves. We need to find out why it regenerated first and set up further tests. Then we need to work out side effects and possible applications, be a long way off of testing on people."

"This liquid, does it have a name?"

_'LCL.'_

Those initials popped into Asuka's head before she had even finished asking the question. Her mother opened her mouth and Asuka got that feeling of dread back.

"Life Component Liquid, which is a bit of a mouthful so just LCL. Until today it had no name but they're optimistic about its properties about a regenerative source so what can I do? I'm there to study and turn it into something to benefit mankind not market it."

Asuka frowned and the feeling of dread grew. She realized very quickly that she no longer wished to hear about this subject. She was proud of her mother for such an accomplishment but something had unnerved her about hearing about it. She could feel her legs start to shake.

"So, what's for dinner?" Asuka asked trying to change the subject.

"Oh crap!" Koyko exclaimed, "I'm so sorry Asuka but I've been so busy with this that I fo-"

Asuka laughed, "Forgot to prepare something? It's alright I'll call Shinji and get him to bring something over. He always makes three times too much for them."

Asuka pulled her phone out of her bag and brought up Shinji's number. She stopped when she saw the wide grin on her mother's face, "What?"

Kyoko continued to grin, “Nothing! I just think it’s sweet that he’s the first person you think of. You could have had your pick of anything but Shinji’s cooking is the thing that comes to your mind first. It’s quite romantic.”

Asuka felt herself blush at the comment, “Oh shut up! It isn’t like that! We’re just… friends and besides it’s a trade we have. He brings us food and I make sure he is looked after, that idiot wouldn’t know what time of day it was if it wasn’t for me. I’m the one who make sure he gets to school on time too! He’s getting off lightly if you ask me!”

Kyoko just laughed, “You are truly my daughter. He’s a sweet boy though, you could do a lot worse than him you know.”

“Drop it mother!”

“Ooh, calling me mother now!” She continued to laugh, “Seems I have struck a nerve.”

Asuka just ignored her and continued to blush as she brought up Shinji’s details on her phone again. It wasn’t that her mother was wrong about her and Shinji, it was more that Asuka didn’t quite know how to act on it yet. Both her and Shinji had been friends for a very long time, since they were little children and it had always been that way.

She had considered asking him out many times. The idea of a relationship with him, well it did sound nice but there was always a risk involved. Shinji had been the one constant in her life, someone she could rely on and she liked to think she was the same for him. She wanted him to be around. She actually felt like she could be herself around him but then if they moved past friendship the risk would be there of losing him.

_‘I already lost him once didn’t I?’_

Asuka looked up as that strange thought entered her mind. She shook her head and tried to cast it away. Wherever the thought had come from it wasn’t true. She had never been close to losing Shinji. Yet that thought wouldn’t go away.

_‘What is wrong with me tonight?’_

She started to make the call but just as she did a feeling of dizziness washed over her. She stumbled forward and felt the phone drop from her hand. The vision from before had returned only more intense this time. That tank from before came back into view only this time she was standing over it and could see the occupant.

Asuka’s heart leapt into her throat as she recognized herself floating inside the tank. There were a number of tubes running to various parts of her body, a mask fitted over her mouth and she seemed to be wearing an eye patch.

She blinked again and the front room had returned, she could hear the distant echoes of her mother’s voice calling out to her. Asuka felt herself fall backwards and a soft pair of arms caught her. She looked up into her mother’s terrified face.

“M-Mama?” Asuka mumbled.

“Rest Asuka… I… I’ll get some help!”

“Shinji… Get… Shinji… I think… I’m starting to remember…” Asuka muttered as she slipped into unconsciousness.

XXX

Mari pulled on a top and switched the power on for her computer. All the time she was getting changed the image of Rei Ikari had not left her mind. It was strange how the girl had made such an impression on her. She had only known Rei for less than a day and even that would be stretching it. She had said hello to her once and sat next to her during maths. It wasn’t like they had had any contact beyond that.

Yet Mari found herself enthralled by Rei. The girl just had an aura about her. She had perfect deep blue eyes that Mari felt she could just get lost in, she had cute short brown hair and although Mari hadn’t seen her smile she was certain it’s be a beautiful smile.

Mari wasn’t especially bothered by being attracted to Rei. She had come to terms with the fact that she liked girls a while ago. Her mother had been accepting of that fact and whilst she might have received a few snide comments at school most people had been supportive.

_‘It’s funny but I don’t just feel attracted to her but I feel like I know her. Being near her… Just felt right. This isn’t like any other time I’ve found a girl attractive…’_

She sighed and rose from her seat as the computer was stuck booting up. She bashed the side of the tower and moved towards the window.

_‘Stupid bloody thing, it always does this after an update!’_

Mari looked out of the window and down the street. It was mostly silent aside from a couple of kids out there playing and throwing a ball towards one another. She looked a bit further down and almost called out in fright at that she saw. She blinked and looked again to confirm it. There was a person stood in the middle of the road, not just any person but as she kept on looking it seemed to be Rei.

Except this wasn’t the Rei that she had met today. This Rei was much paler, had short blue hair and was wearing a bizarre black skin-tight body suit. From here Mari could also see the girls piercing red eyes. She kept on looking ahead as Rei stood in the middle of the road and then finally she looked directly at Mari.

Mari ducked in fright and slowly peeked back up out of the window. The figure was gone. She shook her head and looked up and down the road but there was absolutely no trace of the girl.

_‘What the hell?’_

She leaned up on the windowsill trying to get a better look in case the person had moved to one side of the road but she was certain that they were gone.

_‘What the hell is wrong with me? I must have really fallen for her to start seeing things like that. Why did I see her like that though? I feel… like I’ve seen it before.’_

She moved away from the window and felt that dizziness pass through her again. She stopped in her tracks as a rush of words and phrases popped into her head followed by the image of her holding that paler and blue haired version of Rei. Only Mari was wearing a similar style body-suit but it was pink in colour.

_‘SEELE… Evangelion… Angel… Nemesis Series… Akagi… What the hell?’_

She felt fear rush through her as each of the words was accompanied by an image. Impossible images of strange machines and environments. Stuff from Science Fiction or from a strange nightmare and yet they felt so real.

“Mari! Tea’s ready!”

Mari was snapped from her thoughts by her mother’s call. She quickly exited the room and moved downstairs back into the kitchen. A plate of the casserole had been put out for her and her mother was already eating. She shot Mari a smile, “Are you feeling alright? You look a bit lost in thought, bit strange to see you quiet.”

Mari stuck out her tongue in reply, “Sometimes I like to think. Just not often!”

“It’s about that girl isn’t it?”

Mari blushed but nodded, “Yeah…”

“Well ask her out then!”

Mari almost dropped her fork in shock, “And you call me out on being impulsive! I can’t do that!”

“Why not?” Her mother shrugged, “You like her don’t you? Worst that she could do is say no.”

“W-Well because… She’ll probably be freaked out by it, I’ve known hew for less than a day.” Mari explained, “I mean what am I supposed to do? Walk up to her, ‘Oh hey Rei, I’m Mari Makinami, Teessides resident lesbian schoolgirl. Would you like to go on a date with me?’”

“Don’t be silly!” Her mother shot back, “Just ask her if she’d like to go into town with you, take her out for a meal and show her the sights.”

“That’ll be a very short afternoon if I’m showing her the sights…”

“Just don’t mention it’s a date, get to know her and take her somewhere. Go see a film together and get some food. I’m sure she’d enjoy that.”

 _‘Go and see a film together and have a meal…’_ Mari felt that feeling of familiarity wash over her again. Another image this time of her and the other Rei walking along a bridge hand in hand. Both were dressed more casually and the other Rei had an expression of wonder on her face.

Mari shook it off, “Maybe…”

She looked at her mother as the two resumed eating in silence all the while thinking about those strange words and images she had seen.

“This is going to be a strange question but…” Mari started, “I’ve not met Rei or their family before have I?”

Hey mother frowned, “No. Why do you ask?”

Mari shrugged, “I dunno, just… when you said her brother’s name I felt like I had heard it before somewhere. Also… this is going to sound stupid but when I was upstairs it felt like I remembered something from a long time ago.”

“Oh?” Mari’s mother raised an intrigued eyebrow, “What was it?”

“I dunno, some words… Evangelion… Nemesis Series… Angels… I dunno why it’s bugging me so much.”

Mari looked at her mother’s reaction and was surprised when her mother didn’t laugh but instead looked away and seemed almost sad. Mari waited a few moments as they sat in silence until she finally spoke, “Mom… Is everything alright?”

“So… You’re finally starting to remember… I wondered when this would happen.”

Mari looked at her in confusion, “Remember? Remember what?”

Her mother looked up at her and smiled, “The world beyond this one, your true past. I’ve been wondering when this day would come. There… are some things I need to tell you.”

XXX

_'I remember now... This... this is not where I should be...'_

Asuka felt a stinging pain in her head as she slowly opened her eyes to find herself in her bed. She didn't know how long she had been out for but she awoke with a feeling of sadness. Her dreams had been strange and vivid but with them came the reality she had been fighting against. This was not real, none of it was and it was time for her to return.

She looked over towards the doorway to see her mother standing there, a sad look in her eyes as she simply nodded her head at Asuka.

"You've realized then."

Asuka nodded back, "Y-Yeah... I think... I always knew but I fought it. I just wanted..."

Asuka felt the sting of tears in her eyes, "You were taken from me when I was four. I just wanted a... I needed to know what it would have been like to have you there. Even if it was temporary I had to know that... you loved me."

"You idiot!" Kyoko stepped forward and flung her arms around Asuka, "I always loved you and I always will do Asuka. You're my daughter, I... I fought so hard to have you and I'm so sorry things ended the way they did."

"It wasn't your fault..." Asuka muttered as she hugged her mother back, "You were always there through, weren't you?"

"Yes." Kyoko confirmed with a nod, "Inside Unit 02... I felt your pain as you fought those monsters. I tried to protect you as best I could but what I could do was limited. I was always looking over you... I never stopped loving you."

Asuka sighed, "I guess when I came here I made myself forget about it all. I always... felt like something wasn't right with me. A strange emptiness but I never figured it out until now."

"What was it that did it?" Kyoko asked.

"You talking about the tissue regeneration." Asuka explained, "I started to remember the tank I was put in after the incident in Unit 03. That tank... it saved my life back then. That was your work."

Kyoko laughed, "I did say I was going to change the world, didn't I?"

"And you did." Asuka smiled back at her, "Shinji is here isn't he?"

"Yes, he made you some soup for when you wake up. He's really worried about you."

"Can I... see him?" Asuka asked, "I know it isn't really him but... Is it alright if I delude myself just a bit longer?"

"Of course. I'll tell him to come him."

Kyoko kissed Asuka gently on the forehead and started to leave the room. Asuka turned and propped up a pillow allowing herself to sit up properly and watched as a visibly nervous Shinji entered her room. He was carrying a tray with what smelled like chicken soup in a bowl as well as some bread. He placed the tray carefully on her bedside table and sat down on the edge of her bed.

"How are you feeling Asuka?"

"Better." Asuka nodded, "Thank you for coming to see me. You've... always been there for me haven't you?"

Shinji shook his head and blushed, "N-No... If anything you've been the one who has been there for me. All those times you've helped me when I was being bullied or... didn't know how to do work or needed waking up in the morning."

"And what about all the times you've came to bring me things when I've been ill? Tended to my injuries when I've hurt myself?" Asuka retorted, "Been there when I cried because I missed my mother?"

Shinj smiled, "I... I guess."

"And now you're here for me again and you made me soup and... I hate it so much." She laughed, "I hate relying on people but... if it's you then I guess it's alright."

"Would you like the soup now?" He asked.

Asuka looked at the bowl and started to reach over to pick it up. She realized about halfway into the motion that her hands were trembling and she would be unable to pick up the bowl. She glared at it in frustration before mumbling something under her breath. Shinji looked at her in confusion, "Did you say something?"

"…Need you... feed... me..." She muttered.

"I... I can't hear you."

"I need you to feed me!" Asuka raised her voice, "I can't... pick the stupid bowl up. My hands are too shaky from what happened."

"O-Oh!" Shinji immediately picked up the bowl and the spoon. He stirred around the bowl a little bit before getting a good amount of soup on the spoon. He slowly and carefully lifted the spoon out of the bowl and guided it towards Asuka. She opened her mouth and allowed the spoon to enter before closing her lips around it and allowing Shinji to pull the spoon out.

She waited a few moments before smiling, "It's good... As always."

This repeated until the soup was half finished. She raised her hand to signal him to stop as he put the spoon in another time. He placed the bowl back on the table and looked at her. Asuka simply looked back, this was nice and it was so tempting for her to remain like this. Living in this little world that had been conjured up especially for her but this Shinji wasn't the real one and this homelife wasn't where she belonged.

She shot Shinji a sad little smile, "You know I love you, don't you?"

Shinji looked back at her and she wondered how he would react to her sudden declaration. Much to her surprise he looked her straight in the eyes, "I love you too Asuka."

He leaned in and softly kissed her on the lips, she ran her hand along his face. It all felt so real and she supposed that in a way it was real. It was as real as she wanted and as she needed it to be but it just wasn't reality. It was little more than a dream she had conjured up for herself. She released Shinji from the kiss and he continued to look her in the eye.

"You're returning now aren't you?"

"So you knew as well?"

He nodded, "In this world we're all connected it seems, the people we conjured are fragments of those people but reshaped in the images of those who conjure them."

"That sounds awfully clever coming from you." She remarked.

"I don't think they're my words but probably someone elses after they explained it to me."

"So you'll be going through this sort of thing too?" She asked, "Does that mean... you might not return?"

Shinji shook his head, "I don't know but... I promised I wouldn't leave you and I will keep that."

"If you don’t I'll come get you myself." Asuka warned him with a smile, "Can you go... and get mama for me. I need to talk to her."

"Of course." They kissed one more time before Shinji got up and left the room. Moments later Kyoko walked back in with a smile on her face.

"So... Are you a fragment like that Shinji is?" Asuka asked.

Kyoko shook her head, "No, I'm the real thing. All I ever desired was to see you again Asuka, the real you and not some false you and so I was brought into this. I was given the chance to do something I never could do. I was given the chance to raise you and be a mother to you. I watched you grow up in this place, I fed you and clothed you, was there when you were ill and... I even got a chance to watch you fall in love."

Kyoko sat herself down next to Asuka, "I'm so sorry you never had a real childhood Asuka. I'm sorry you never had that opportunity."

Asuka threw her arms around her and held her tightly. She was about to speak but no words came out, only a slight sob and a sniff as tears ran down her cheeks, "Mama... I'm... Glad I got to see you one more time."

"I'm glad I got to see you too Asuka." Kyoko said, "I'm so proud of you, everything you've fought through and the person you are. It hasn't been easy for you but... you've overcame everything."

Asuka laughed, "Yeah..."

Kyoko released Asuka from the hug and held her hands in her own, "I'm sorry I won't be around for you but keep moving forward Asuka. Keep striving to be the best but don't forget others are there to help you too."

Asuka nodded, "I know... Shinji... Mari... Misato... They'll all be there for me."

"But make sure they also get a reminded of how special you are as well, after all you're my daughter." Kyoko laughed as she spoke.

"I can see where I get my arrogance from now." Asuka laughed as well, "I'll make sure they stay in line and remember."

"Remember as well... I'll always be looking out for you Asuka. I love you."

"I love you too Mama."

They embraced once again as Asuka felt a warmth spread throughout her. It was followed by a bright white light as the room faded around her.

XXX

Shinji now found himself standing in the middle of a street and looking up at an apartment block, a block not dissimilar to the one that he and Misato had lived at many years ago. He felt his throat go dry as he already knew why he was here of all places, it would not be Misato he’d be encountering in this place but someone else.

His mother was stood next to him, her hand on his shoulder and he spoke, “He’s in there… Isn’t he?”

Yui nodded, “Yes… This is his world.”

Shinji swallowed and peered up as she reassured him, “Take your time. Unlike those other places he will be able to see you.”

Shinji nodded slowly. It had been an unusual journey for him since he had stepped onto the plane. Just as Kaworu and his mother had mentioned there had been so many other worlds out there, each one with different versions of himself there. Some of them had been in various stages of progress. He had seen a world in which Third Impact and Instrumentality had happened, it was a world in which he, Asuka and others were rebuilding their lives and relationships.

He had witnessed a world that had suffered the Third Impact but somehow managed to reset itself. A world where he lived as a regular school student amazed by the strange stone statues that littered the area around his town.

There had been a world where he had dared to act during a kiss that Asuka had dared him to take part in. One that had seemingly led to wonderful consequences, a stark contrast to the first world where h had simply stood there and done nothing.

As Kaworu had mentioned there were sometimes many strange differences in these worlds. Relationships differed and even people differed. In the worlds he thought of before Mari had not factored into things at all for some reason. In other worlds he had found love not with Asuka but with Rei. In others he had found love with Kaworu. There was one particular world where he had even found love with Asuka and Kaworu at the same time.

One thing that bound all of these worlds was that they each had hope within them. They each shown Shinji the power of hope and continuing. Of not running away and of communication. Each Shinji within these worlds face their trials, sometimes it had been disastrous. Yet each Shinji had made the same decision as he did, to abandon Instrumentality and push on in the hope that they might find happiness.

Even in those worlds ravaged by disaster and Third Impact, where they fought hard to rebuild their lives it was still there.

“Anywhere can be paradise as long as you have the will to live. After all, you are alive so you will always have the chance to be happy. As long as the Sun, the Moon and the Earth exist, everything will be alright…”

Shinji looked up as his mother spoke those words to him.

“What do I say to him?” Shinji asked.

Yui shook her head, “I don’t know Shinji. That is for you to decide.”

“How do you feel about him?”

“Conflicted, I still love him… I know a side of Gendo that many others do not. I know the man he used to be. He was smart, funny and kind. He was unfairly treated by others but I also know the things he has done since.” She said, “I can’t forgive him for those things but I cannot let go of my love for him.”

Shinji walked forward with his mother following close behind, they went up two flights of stairs before coming to a door. The nameplate read Ikari and taking a deep breath Shinji pressed the buzzer. It did not take long before the door slowly opened.

It was his father who answered, dressed much to Shinji’s surprise fair more casually than he had ever expected to see him. The man was also clean shaven and wearing non-reflective eyes. It was the first time in years Shinji had actually seen his father’s eyes clearly. The man actually looked human, he looked at Yui and then at Shinji before nodding his head.

“I have been expecting this. Come inside.”

Shinji followed him inside into the front room. On the floor was a toy box and a small child with short brown hair playing happily with a train. Shinji instantly recognized the child as a younger version of himself. The kid seemed to ignore Shinji’s presence and carried on running the toy train along a small build up section of track.

“I knew this day would come.” Gendo uttered as he walked through into the apartments kitchen, “This… Was only ever temporary. My time running must come to an end.”

“You’re going to return?” Shinji asked curiously. It was strange for him to hear his father utter those worlds, this was surely what his father had always wanted. To live in this world free of pain and suffering, to have the family he always wanted. Why would he return? Wasn’t this what he had fought for?

“Yes… You were right.” Gendo explained, “This life… It was what I wanted but every day I wake up and I remember the life beyond this one. I remember everything I did to get to this point and I remember all I sacrificed and I can’t will it away. That I suppose is my punishment, to have what I desired but to always be reminded that it is nothing more than a façade.”

“Why didn’t you make it so that you could forget then?” Shinji asked.

“Because I desired punishment for what I had done. I could not be a father to you without Yui and everything you said was correct.” Gendo added, “I was a coward and I ran away. I am responsible for so much pain and suffering in the world. I desired punishment for my crimes, I would have welcomed death but death is not a punishment.”

“So your punishment was to remember it all? To always feel that emptiness each time you saw mother or me.”

Gendo nodded, “Indeed.”

Shinji shook his head, “You know you won’t have a life outside of this, don’t you?”

Gendo nodded again, “I am more than willing to accept any punishment for my crimes. I will readily admit to everything and explain it all. I will aid WILLE and its people however I can.”

Shinji looked Gendo straight in the eyes and looked to see if maybe this was another lie from him. Another way of his father trying to manipulate him but there was no trace of that in his eyes, just someone who wanted this to be over.

“It would be best if you went now Shinji, I expect we will never see each other again after this.”

Shinji lowered his head, “No… You… You don’t get away that easily.”

“You… I hate you.” Shinji said out loud, “I hate you more than anything right now. You… You hurt me, you hurt Misato and Asuka and so many others. You… You killed people and nearly tore the world apart for your own selfishness. You… You…”

Shinji had run out of words to speak, he didn’t know what it was he was trying to say or if he was actually trying to say anything at all. He felt rage and anger build up in side of him, he felt like he wanted to hit this pathetic man in front of him but then he figured what would be the point now? What would that achieve, Shinji would get maybe a minute of satisfaction from it.

His father said nothing, instead looking somewhat taken aback by Shinji’s outburst. Finally Shinji looked up at him.

“This won’t be the last time we see each other.” He muttered, “That will be your punishment out there, whatever prison you are in or wherever they put you, I will see you again. You might have abandoned me but… I won’t abandon you. She… She wouldn’t want that.”

Gendo looked at him in surprise but finally nodded, “You really are her son. Goodbye Shinji.”

“Goodbye…” Shinji turned around and started to walk out of the apartment, he stopped and looked back over his shoulder, “Goodbye father…”

He stepped out of the apartment and was immediately greeted by his mother, “How was it?”

“I… I don’t know.” Shinji admitted, “He doesn’t want to stay here. He realizes it’s empty but there is nothing for him out there. WILLE will just lock him away like he deserves to be. I already said I will see him again but I don’t even know what I meant by that. I feel stupid for it, even after all he has done I still… want some sort of contact.”

“You’re a good person Shinji.” Yui pulled wrapped her arms around him, “I think it’s time to go back now. Is that alright with you?”

Shinji held onto his mother tightly, “I won’t see you again will I?”

Yui shook her head, tears rolling down her cheeks as she held her son to her, “No, I’m sorry Shinji. This will be the last time.”

“Then… Can I have just a few more moments?” Shinji asked as mother and son embraced each other for the last time.

XXX

Shinji felt the warm liquid surround him completely as he slowly opened his eyes. There was a brief moment of panic as his brain reminded him that he was unable to swim and yet his body rose to the top with minimal effort and he found himself able to make it towards the shallower parts of the lake with ease.

As he moved through the liquid he started to realize just what it was, it was a lake of LCL. The blood-like stench of it infiltrated his nostrils, it was much stronger than he had ever experienced before. Finally he made it to the shoreline and he stumbled forward out of the lake, he felt sick and took a moment to steady himself.

He dropped to his knees and turned to look behind him. The tower, for the moment, was still there and he could see a thin beam of white light shooting up into the sky from the structure. Stood in front of the tower, about a third of the structures size was Evangelion Unit 01. From here he could see the eyes of the Eva shining brightly and a thin halo of light above it.

Shinji continued to watch as he felt a rumbling from beneath him. It intensified as the light above the tower vanished and the structure suddenly started to crumble before his very eyes. He looked on in shock and amazement as the whole thing collapse sending debris and rubble crashing down into the lake of LCL.

At this was happening he also turned to look at Unit 01. The halo of light had vanished as well as the light in its eyes. He wondered if it too would crumble like the tower had done but instead it seemed to power down. The once vibrant green and purple armour was turned to the colour of stone.

“Goodbye… mother…” Shinji whispered softly as he rose to his feet once again.

He now wondered if this was it, if this was all finally over. Evangelion Unit 01 had stopped working permanently and the Tower Of Babel was now nothing but rubble that had sunk to the bottom of a lake. Did then then mean that it was over?

He experienced a flood of emotion in that moment, elation, joy, sadness and confusion. He looked around the area for a trace of any other people but no one was nearby. He wondered what had happened to them all. He could remember what his mother had said about the unification, people around the tower had been pulled in, it could be that they were waiting to return and would emerge from the lake just as he had done.

An eerie silence was around him as he tried to think of what he should do. Should he remain here and wait or go and try to find someone? His mind was occupied by thoughts of all the people he knew, hoping that they would be alright and that he could see them soon.

_‘Asuka… Rei… Misato… Mari… Kaworu… What happened to them? Are they alright?’_

Shinji finally started to walk away from the lake. He followed the coast for a minute or two before a flash of red on the ground caught his eye. His heart skipped a bit as he made out the form of another person slowly getting to their feet.

_‘No… It… It is!’_

“ASUKA!” Shinji yelled out and ran over to her just as she was getting to her feet. He put out a hand to steady her as the girl moved forward. She slowly turned to look at him, her expression one of confusion.

“S-Shinji?” She muttered, “S-So I… I’m back then?”

Shinji nodded slowly, “Are you alright?”

Asuka shook her head, “No… I will be though. I need a minute.”

Shinji nodded and gently guided her back down to the soft ground. She sat looking out towards the ruins of the tower and the petrified form of Evangelion Unit 01. She felt a gently breeze on her face as she slowly tried to come to terms with what had just happened and also deal with her joy as seeing Shinji alive and well.

“I-It’s really you… I was so scared that you had… I saw them get you but…”

Asuka nodded and let out a short laugh, “Hah… Like I’d let something like that kill me.”

Shinji remained on his feet standing by her as she continued to look at the tower. She didn’t even want to think about what had just happened, she just wanted to sleep right now.

“So… That’s it then… We won I guess…” Asuka finally said.

Shinji sat himself down beside her and slide his hand into hers, “Yeah… We did…”

“Doesn’t really feel like a victory.” Asuka admitted, “I… I saw her.”

Shinji nodded, “I know… I saw mine as well.”

“We won’t see them again will we?”

Shinji shook his head, “No… We won’t.”

They fell into silence for a few moments and just looked out of the calm red waters that now filled the scene of the grand battle that had taken place. Everything was so quiet and still, an eerie contrast to how it had been earlier on in that day.

“We should look for the others.” Shinji said as he slowly started to rise to his feet.

Asuka nodded, “Yeah…”

She too got to her feet and turned to face him. They looked one another in the eyes and no words were exchanged as they slowly moved closer to one another. Shinji reached up with one hand and gently ran it through her red hair before cupping her face and running his hand down along he cheek. She smiled back at him, "Let's go then."

Shinji nodded back but before they moved he leaned in and kissed Asuka softly. She brought her hands around him, the two sharing a warm and passionate embrace on the side of the lake. Finally, when the kiss was broken they took each other's hand and started to walk along the shoreline of the lake.


	35. Epilogue - Our New World

**Two Weeks Later.**

It had been two weeks since they had emerged from the lake and witnessed the destruction of the tower. Now Asuka and Shinji found themselves once again in the exactly same spot they had emerged from. This has become a part of their daily routine since returning, they would go out early in the morning and walk along the shore of the lake to talk and look for anyone else who had returned.

The two weeks had been strange for the both of them. Much of that first day had been spent completely alone with Misato the first to return and find them. They had set up a small camp for just the three of them near to where the original camp had been. The original camp and all of its equipment had been destroyed and swallowed up by the lake.

Over the course of the second day a few more people had returned. Mari and Doctor Akagi among them. On this day a group from WILLE and Espèrer also arrived on site to provide aid to those emerging. Misato had explained the situation and a small and temporary settlement was put in place to home those that emerged for time being.

Within the first week most of the Bridge Crew that Shinji knew, Sakura, Maya, Aoba and the others had returned. This was accompanied by other members of the Wunders crew that Shinji didn't know and much to the others surprise and also their joy members of the AAA Thunderchild's crew also started to emerge.

Rei had finally emerged only yesterday. She had been highly disorientated from the experience and it had not been possible for Shinji or the others outside of Mari and Ritsuko to speak to her. On examining her condition, she had been ordered to rest in Mari's tent.

Shinji was however keeping his eye out for one specific person to return. He had told both Misato and Asuka about what he had experienced within Instrumentality and his meeting with his father. He had told them that his father said that he would return and face up to his crimes. Yet as of two weeks there was no sign of him at all.

"You're thinking about him again, aren't you?"

Shinji nodded in response to Asuka's question, "Yeah, I can't help it. I just keep expecting us to find him when we walk along here and I keep on thinking about what he said. I wonder what I'd do if I did find him."

"He should hope that you wouldn't be the one to find him." Asuka said sternly, "Because I'll be right alongside you and I'll make sure the first thing that he sees is my boot in his face."

Shinji couldn't help but smile, "Would you really do that to him?"

"I almost died because of him... He shot your friend and put this entire world at risk. I'd... be tempted." Asuka sighed whilst shaking her head, "But I know it'd probably make you sad or something so probably not."

"Sorry."

Asuka playfully hit him on the back of the head, "Idiot, you have nothing to apologize for. It's a complicated situation, I can appreciate that."

As they continued walking Shinji made an effort to put the thoughts of his father out of his mind. Asuka was right, it was a complicated situation, he didn't know quite how to feel about that man. He didn't know how he would feel if his father would emerge from the lake. Gendo ikari was still his father and a part of Shinji knew that Gendo did care about him but that part was buried beneath everything else that made up Gendo.

Shinji knew there would never ever be a rebuilding of the relationship between the two of them. Gendo had done far too much and gone too far for Shinji to want that. If anything, Shinji just saw it as sad, that his father chose to run away from his fears and feelings than face up to them.

"He won't come back..." Asuka suddenly stated, "I know he said he would but... he won't. Ir was just another lie. Probably a way of making himself feel better."

"I know..." Shinji admitted, "It's probably best he doesn't anyway. There is nothing for him here. Did... Misato say what is going to happen to us all?"

Asuka nodded, "I had a meeting with her last night. WILLE and Espèrer are going to start moving some of the people back to their home settlements soon. Apparantly Akagi has managed to convince them there is no risk to anyone else from the people who emerged from the lake but they want to wait another day or two to make sure. I believe we'll be offered the opportunity to leave along with the first batch."

"I... I want to stay." Shinji suddenly stated, "Just... for another week or two. Just until I'm sure he isn't coming back."

"I had a feeling you would." Asuka replied, "I've already spoken to Misato and she is happy for us to stay. She was actually going to ask us to stay anyway to help explain to any new survivors what it is that just happened to them."

"Good." Shinji nodded, he was happy to be helpful to Misato and the others. Part of his and Asuka daily activities since they had returned had been speaking to those who emerged and explaining what Instrumentality was and what had happened to them.

"Not really sure what'll happen to us after that though." Asuka admitted, "The Wunder is gone and I doubt there are any more of those things buried in the world. No more Eva's to pilot and no Angels left to fight."

"So what about everyone else?"

"Misato said that WILLE and Espèrer will find ways to rehome everyone and give them jobs within the respective groups. There is a lot of work to be done to rebuild this world so it's not like all these people are suddenly unemployed."

"What about people like Erika and Fuyutsuki?"

"No idea, I think Akagi and Maya have expressed an interest in taking care of Erika and as far as Fuyutsuki goes..." Asuka frowned, "I guess it's complicated... He's been helpful to those in charge telling them everything he knows, treating the wounded and so on but... he was your father's right-hand man for many years."

"I know, he could have stopped it at any time but he didn't..." Shinji added. He had only seen Fuyutsuki the once after returning. It had been an awkward encounter in which Fuyutsuki had told Shinji he was sorry for what had happened, and hoped that now he would find peace.

"No, he didn't, and by the time he had his crisis of conscience the damage had already been done." Asuka added, "Still... At least he is facing up to it and trying to do something. Seems he is genuine in wanting to help."

Asuka felt Shinji's hand in hers as they continued to walk along the shoreline. She had been thinking about her future, up until now she had never thought about her future. She had never been able to see that far ahead of her. It had always been preparation for the next battle, worrying about what it would bring and trying to survive. It seemed that she would no longer have that worry, the battles were over and she had no idea what to do.

She shot a quick glance at Shinji and smiled, remembering what he had said back when they were in the Espèrer village. If she was free now, truly free it didn't seem like too bad an idea.

"We should travel Shinji." She suddenly stated, "Like you said you wanted when we were in the village. After we leave this place we should ask them to take us to Neo-London and just go from there. Spend a few weeks in one place and move on. I've... not really seen much of the world either and I think I've earned a bit of a break."

Shinji didn't take long to think about the offer, he nodded immediately, "Yeah... I'd like that Asuka."

They stopped and kissed one another for a moment before continuing their journey towards their new and open future.

XXX

Mari rolled herself over and began to open her eyes slowly, she smiled as Rei came into view. The girl was dressed in a pair of pink pajama’s that had been loaned to her and was carefully pouring herself a cup of tea. Mari let out a small yawn, “Morning Blue… Are you feeling better today?”

Rei smiled at hearing Mari’s voice and she carefully shifted herself around to sit cross legged facing her girlfriend. The tent was somewhat cramped with the two of them in there but neither Rei nor Mari minded that. Rei was happy just to be able to be next to Mari and be alongside her again.

She gave a small nod of her head and softly smiled at her, “I am feeling better today. I apologize that I was not very good company last night.”

Mari shook her head and reached out with a hand to playfully boop Rei on the tip of her nose, “Silly! You don’t need to apologize. First day back is always the same for people it seems, takes some time to adjust and… well you had it pretty rough before and I imagine during.”

“Were you the same when you emerged?”

Mari nodded, “Yup! Took me about two days to get back to normal.”

“I am sorry that I was not there to help you.” Rei lowered her head slightly and she received another playful boop on the nose.

“It isn’t your fault!” Mari replied, “You couldn’t help when you emerged from there any more than I could. Besides I had the Puppy and the Princess to look after me and now I get to look after you! Mari-Care is the best type of care!”

Rei let out a small laugh at Mari’s comment. Truth was she still felt slightly disorientated from the whole experience. There was a lot going through her mind at the moment from the initial meeting with Shinji’s mother, being a part of awakening Unit 01 and her own experiences within the reality she conjured during Instrumentality.

“So… Anything you want Rei, you just name it.”

Rei nodded and sipped from her warm tea before setting it down carefully. She thought about Mari’s words and what she would want right now. Only one thing came to mind for her right now and she shuffled herself over to where Mari was sitting.

“I think… I would like to be hugged.”

Mari grinned, “One hug coming right up!”

Mari reached out with both arms and wrapped them lovingly around Rei’s body. She pulled the blue haired girl towards her and felt Rei nuzzle her head into her shoulder. Rei put her own arms around Mari and gently pushed her onto her back and continued to snuggle into her. Mari used one free arm to pull the covers up over them and they lay silently for several moments sharing and enjoying the warmth of one another’s body.

“I’m so happy you’re back Rei.” Mari whispered, “I don’t know what I would have done if you didn’t return.”

“You feared I would choose to remain in that state?” Rei asked.

Mari shook her head, “Not that, I had no doubt you would choose to return. It was what happened to you beforehand. When we were piloting the Eva… Akagi… couldn’t find out what was wrong and you fell unconscious. She couldn’t wake you… We didn’t know what had happened.”

“I was… called to Unit 01 by my mother.”

Mari raised her eyebrows in confusion at Rei’s statement, “M-Mother… you mean… Yui?”

“Yes. She required my help to… save Shinji. I spoke with her…” Rei smiled, “She let me hold a version of Shinji as a baby.”

Mari giggled, “Shinji as a baby, what was he like?”

“He was cute.” Rei admitted, “And he was warm, I liked the feeling of holding him. I also… liked talking to her as well. Our time was brief but as I left she told me that although she did not know me nor did she give birth to me she considers me her daughter. She asked me to look after Shinji and she also said… that she is proud of me.”

Mari’s only reaction was to hold Rei tighter and kiss her on the back of her head, “Well… I guess we’d better start thinking of how to look after the Puppy then and keep him from getting into trouble!”

Rei smiled, “it was strange to hear such words from her. She has never known me and has every right to not care about who I was. I always thought that… if she knew me she would hate me for what I was, a copy of her made with only one purpose. I am thankful that she does not hate me and she considers me family. She seems like a good person.”

“I’m sure she was Rei.”

“I would… like to know what you experiences in there.”

Mari gave a shrug, “Just what you’d expect from me really! Typical ‘normal’ world where I lived back in England with my mum and I had a crush on this really cute transfer student. I was never tempted to stay though… after all… you just don’t suit brown hair.”

Rei leaned up and looked deeply into Mari’s eyes before kissing the girl firmly and passionately on the lips. She held onto Mari tightly and climbed further on top of the girl as Mari pulled the sheets up a little bit more and they shared in one another’s love.

XXX

Everything was a painful blur as he stumbled out of the lake and strained his eyes up towards the bright blue sky. There was a stringing pain in his right shoulder as he tried to move forward only to collapse to his knees on the sand below. The heat of the sun bore down on him as he studied his surroundings trying to figure out where he was.

He turned his body around to look out over the red lake towards where the tower had once stood. What he saw now only confused him.

_‘It… It has gone! I do not understand… if it no longer stands than how am I still here? I should not be here. I do not belong in this world!’_

He tried to look around again. Off in the distance he could see tent like shapes from what he assumed was some sort of settlement. There were people nearby. Maybe he could get over to them and find out what had happened. He tried to get to his feet but his legs refused to work for the moment so he remained still.

He even wondered if it’d be a good idea going to the camp. He had no idea who those people were and if they recognized him what they would do. Perhaps it would be best for him to gather his strength and go elsewhere, but where would he go? There was nowhere for him.

“Well of all the people to return.” He froze instantly at the sound of the woman’s voice, it was a familiar voice belonging to Misato Katsuragi, “I certainly didn’t expect to see you. Welcome back, Kaworu Nagisa.”

Kaworu felt the unfamiliar pangs of fear rise up throughout him. Misato Katsuragi was stood behind him, she knew who and what he was. He slowly turned himself around to face her and was surprised to see her not standing as he expected but smiling at him.

“Miss… Katsuragi…” he uttered.

Misato stepped forward and immediately Kaworu tried to back away. He scrambled backwards but his body gave way midway during the attempt and he found himself crashing to the ground and letting out a yelp of pain.

Misato quickly moved forward and knelt down beside him, “You don’t need to be scared Kaworu. I’m not here to hurt you.”

“You’re not?” Kaworu asked.

“No, not at all. I’m here to help you and bring you back to our camp.” She continued to smile as she spoke to him, “I’ve got a car parked nearby. We can go when you’re ready. Take your time, the first day back is the worst.”

“I… I do not understand why I am here.” Kaworu admitted.

“Way I understand it is you’re here because you want to be here, just like the rest of us who were caught up in this thing. We were given the choice to return and so we did.”

“But… I am not human I do not recall being given a choice.” He replied.

“Doesn’t matter what you are or what you remember. You’re here and we will support you in any way we can.” Misato stood up and extended her hand out to him, “Now, shall we go?”

Kaworu looked back towards where the tower had stood for a moment. None of this made sense to him, he had not expected to still be here when all of this was over. His kind and humanity was not supposed to be able to co-exist and he had come to terms with that fact. He had been prepared to sacrifice himself so that humanity would go on.

He took Misato’s hand and got to his feet, his legs and shoulder still hurting and the feeling of disorientation still there. There was also something else there, a craving that he had never experienced before.

“I… I am hungry…” He uttered with some surprise.

It was a statement that drew a chuckle from Misato, “Yeah you’re not the first to say that when they come back.”

Kaworu shook his head, “No… I mean… I’m hungry… I… I am not supposed… my body does not require such things. At least… it did not used to.”

“You mean because you were part Angel right?”

Kaworu nodded, “Yes… I have… eaten in the past but only minimal amounts. I do not understand, something has… happened to me.”

Misato gave him a look of concern before shrugging, “We’ll worry about this when we get you to the camp. I can have Akagi or Suzahara look over you but for now don’t worry about it. Take your time to adjust, there is no rush.

Kaworu followed her to where her vehicle was parked, before getting in he looked towards the direction of the camp. If Katsuragi was there then that meant others could be as well, “Miss Katsuragi… Tell me… Is Shinji alright?”

Misato looked at him and nodded, “Shinji is fine, he’s out walking with Asuka at the moment so you won’t see him when we get back. I’m sure he’ll be pleased to see you though. Also before we go I should probably thank you… Shinji told us about how you helped him in the Tower and what happened to you. You did a good thing Kaworu, thank you.”

Kaworu felt a blush come to his cheeks on hearing Misato’s praise for him. Embarrassment was going to be another new feeling for him to have to adjust to. He got into the passenger seat of the car and cast one final glance at where the tower once stood.

_‘It seems that I am human now, there will be much to adjust to and so much to learn. I do not understand how or why this has happened but I am grateful for this opportunity. I suppose I shall see you soon Shinji Ikari and you can keep your promise of introducing me to the others as well.’_


End file.
